Youkaigakure
by brown phantom
Summary: POLL. A great change befell Konoha one night when a young Naruto was almost killed. Now he's no longer alone, but how long can he and those now like him survive in a world that hates them? Undeclared pairing, harem?, rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

"Ha! Couldn't run away from us for long you little bastard!"

The location was Konoha, the place was an alley between two apartment complexes, and the time was six years to the day after the defeat of the Kyuubi and the birth of Naruto Uzumaki.

Two main activities were going on this day, the annual festival to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi, and the conjoining 'fox hunt' the more courageous and myopic villagers had as well. Said 'fox' had just been cornered after an exhausting two hour chase around the village. The fox was a six-year old Naruto, who was currently running for his life.

This was not the first time Naruto had been on the receiving end of death threats and attempts. If anything he couldn't remember a birthday without it. But for the life of him he couldn't understand why. He was only six years old, he hadn't even started his life and so many people wanted it to end.

Attempts to kill him happened with much less regularity throughout the rest of the year, but they still did once a month at the minimum. Usually it was just some drunken thugs who cornered him an alley and beat him until the Anbu arrived to save him.

On his birthday, Naruto was always too afraid to go outside, let alone open his door or windows. It worked only for a short time, for the more vicious of his hunters would just barge in with no form of decency for another's property and try to get him that way. He would get out before they got to him, but he would be chased until they gave up or he did.

This year he had been offered by the Hokage to spend the day in his office for safety reasons, but got ambushed along the way there and chased to the other side of the village.

Naruto had just tripped from exhaustion and hit in the back with some civilian kitchen knives to slow him down further. There were no ninja in this group, and Naruto could tell that these were not the same civilians that started the hunt this year, meaning there was more than one group out to get him this time. "Leave me alone!" He cried, knowing that it was futile to say anything to these people.

"Fat chance monster! You're dying tonight whether the Hokage likes it or not." One of the hunters, a man in his forties with graying brown hair and a small beard said.

"Yeah. Why should we listen to him anyway? We're not ninja; let _them_ be his lapdogs, not us _normal_ people." A woman in her early thirties stated arrogantly.

Naruto looked at them slowly advance, as if they were savoring this moment. Tired from running, and tired from doing this over and over again, he did the only thing no one would ever expect him to do.

He just gave up.

"Fine, then just do it and get it over it. I'm tired of waiting to die." Naruto said sadly as he hung his head, awaiting his demise.

One of the hunters, a man with long black hair and a mustache who also happened to be a member of the civilian council, stopped in his tracks. "You better put up a struggle you hear me? It's no fun if you just let it happen." He had hoped to get some fun out of this before finally killing the brat. They all had. That was the point of these fox hunts.

"I don't care." Naruto replied, still sounding crushed by the weight of the world. "You don't want me to live, and I'm tired of living this way. So just get it over with."

The bearded man stepped forward, brandishing a meat cleaver. "Fine. I'm not wasting this opportunity."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, someone was watching this with much displeasure. This someone was the Kyuubi sealed away in Naruto. "What? No, you can't give up! I will not die like this, trapped in the body of some brat! I AM THE KYUUBI! I CANNOT DIE! I WILL NOT DIE!" The mighty fox roared inside the cage, causing the bars to rattle and shake.<p>

Trapped in this wretched prison for six years, how it cursed that damned Hokage for sentencing a mighty being to this living hell. The Kyuubi's fate bonded to this whelp, who now had decided that life was no longer worth living, it would not allow this, and it would not allow this boy to kill them both.

The giant fox then got an idea. A risky, unorthodox, downright dangerous idea. But maybe, just maybe, it would work for them both. Or it could get them both killed. "Kit, this is going to hurt me as much as it hurts you, but you have left me no choice. This is not just your body it's mine too, and I will not let you kill us both." The fox said as it focused all of its attention on the seal; it needed every ounce of concentration to make this work.

With that, the fox tried to send 99% of it's chakra through the gate keeping it from the rest of the world. The seal the Yondaime placed on his son was the best there was at keeping bijuu locked up, but this sheer output of chakra all at once with no gradual build-up was much more than even it could handle. It was sort of like trying to fill a water bottle with a fire hose at full blast rather than a kitchen faucet. Naruto would not be able to handle it, and the excess amount of chakra would have a profound result, one Kyuubi was relying on. Holding onto 1% of its chakra was a failsafe in case this didn't work, so it could slowly recover over the next few years.

The huge surge of demonic chakra poured through the seal into Naruto's system, straining the seal tremendously to filter it out but not designed to do so on a scale such as this. Fortunately the seal had its own failsafe, the consciousness of Minato Namikaze, who was supposed to appear just once in case Naruto ever accessed eight tails worth of power. 99% of the chakra bursting through the boy's body was close enough.

"Kyuubi!" Minato shouted. "What are you doing?"

"I'm protecting your offspring and my lifeline. What does it look like?" The fox spat in annoyance. Because of it's time with Kushina, it knew full well who Naruto's parents were, and it despised both bloodlines with a burning fury.

"You'll kill him!" Minato shouted back, his voice filled with anger and fear, knowing the life of his only child was in danger from all of this, and he could do virtually nothing to stop this.

"Now why would I do that? If I killed him then I go to the afterlife as well. And unlike you, mortal, I value my life too much to risk it being taken away."

"But he can't handle this much power!"

"He will."

"But it's too much for him!" Minato countered as he started to reinforce the seal. He found it was really difficult to do with the continuing surge of demon chakra. It was like trying to apply a fresh coat of paint while the first coat was being washed off, and due to the fact he was merely an echo of his former self, he did not have much chakra in order to reinforce the seal to maximum strength.

"Maybe, but whatever he can't handle, others will." The fox commented.

"What?" Minato asked, worried about the unknown implications.

"Oh you'll see." Kyuubi replied with a smirk despite the massive drain on itself. "Let's just say that either way the kit won't be alone anymore. And I'll be there to help him out. I've got plans here. Good ones."

Minato didn't like the sound of that and worked faster to strengthen the seal. Unfortunately, he couldn't work fast enough and the seal finally collapsed. "NOO!" He screamed as the gates holding the Kyuubi back started to open. "Please, I beg of you, don't kill my son."

"Foolish human. I have no interest in killing him. If anything, I want him to get as strong as possible." The fox said with a grin as it started to leave its prison with 100% of it's chakra now.

"But why?" Minato asked, confused by the fox's intentions.

"You'll see in a few years. But you won't be there to do anything about it." The fox told him with a smirk, but not a friendly one.

* * *

><p>Back in the outside world, Naruto readied himself for receiving a lethal blow. 'Just let it be quick.' He told himself, knowing if he said it out loud the villagers would give him a slow gruesome death out of spite.<p>

He braced himself for the impact and readied himself to meet whatever Kami had damned him to this miserable existence.

The young boy felt a strong burst of pain and thought the blow had been made. But this pain originated from inside his body, more specifically his stomach, and it felt hot rather than sharp. It was almost like he was spontaneously combusting rather than getting cut up by some hateful villagers.

"What the hell's going on?" The village woman asked fearfully, taking a step back, her original euphoria now gone.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw his body was glowing red. "What the...? What's happening to me?" He asked with no small amount of fear. The pain grew and so did the glow, creating a huge red dome around him as he fell on his side clutching his stomach in agony.

"Hurry! The demon's unleashing its power! Kill it now!" The long-haired man ordered.

The bearded man tried to continue the cleaver assault he never got to start, but the chakra aura got brighter and blinded him. He and the others shielded their eyes, and the red dome around Naruto began to grow at an alarming rate.

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi was at his desk in his office doing some paperwork and feeling annoyed, but at more than just the paperwork. "Where is that boy? He was supposed to be here by now." He thought of using the intercom to ask an Anbu to go look for Naruto and his escort, but a chill going down his spine stopped him. The old man looked behind himself and out the window. Sarutobi wasn't a professional chakra sensor, but nobody could miss sensing this chakra burst. Something was definently wrong.<p>

"It can't be!" He said in shock and denial as he saw a growing red dome form behind some buildings. Judging from its position in the village, the fact that he could see and feel this from that distance meant really, really bad news. And to make matters worse, the dome suddenly without warning grew even bigger much faster, like a bomb went off.

"What's going o-?" The Sandaime Hokage asked, unable to finish before the burst of demonic chakra hit the Hokage tower and blinded everyone it. It even went right thru the walls.

No one could really tell how long this lasted or just how to describe what they felt when it did, but everyone could agree they didn't like it.

When the glow finally did fade, Sarutobi saw he was flat on his back but otherwise no different. He even double-checked himself. 'There's only one place that chakra could have come from.' He thought, dreading the idea of what could have caused this. 'Forget the Anbu, I'm going to see this myself.' He then left the office, somewhat glad he at least had a break from the paperwork, but hopefully not at the expense of Naruto's blood.

* * *

><p>The group that had assaulted Naruto found themselves flat on their backs too when the red light faded. "What did that monster do just then?" A blonde woman asked everyone around her as they got back to their feet.<p>

Before anyone could guess, a deep low growl like an angry predator could be heard. From the shadows of the building, near where Naruto was still laying down unconscious, they saw two red slitted eyes above him, the rest of the body hidden in the darkness. Whatever it was, looked about wolf-sized.

"It's the-!" The blonde woman shouted fearfully, but never finished as her head was blown off by a red chakra ray.

What followed next was a multitude of screams, with no one knowing why surviving to tell anyone why. By the time Anbu arrived, there were over a dozen dead civilian bodies and Naruto was missing.

* * *

><p>"Uh... what happened?" Naruto asked as he started to wake up. The first thing he noticed was that he smelled a lot of trees, grass, flowers, and... water? Wait, he could smell water?<p>

Naruto sat up to look around. He saw he wasn't in the alley but rather in one of the undeveloped parts of Konoha where forest still stood rather than buildings. "How did I get here?"

"Na-Naruto? Is that you?" A woman's voice asked from behind him. He turned around, expecting to see another attack, but he saw the last thing he'd ever expect.

Kneeling down before him was a red-haired woman in her mid twenties, who happened to be completely naked and covered in dirt. Her eyes were violet and her body lean with little fat on it except where it was supposed to be, namely the bust and waist. Naruto blushed and looked away as quick as he could. "Who are you? And where are your clothes?"

"Are you Naruto?" The woman asked again. Naruto nervously nodded, wondering if she was another person trying to kill him today. "Come here, I won't hurt you."

"How can I trust you?" He asked.

"You can. I'm your mother." She told him, gaining his full attention and skepticism.

"My... mother?" He asked in disbelief but a small measure of hope was hidden underneath it. "But I was always told I have no mother."

"Who told you that?" She asked.

"Everyone."

"Well everyone's wrong my son. My name's Kushina. You are definitely my son. I'd recognize those cute little whisker marks anywhere." The now-named Kushina told him with a warm smile. She reached over to gently caress his cheek, but he shirked away from the contact.

"Where have you been?"

Kushina sighed. "I'm not sure how to tell you this, son, but... I died."

"Died?"

She nodded, and it was only then that Naruto noticed a few features he had overlooked. Namely the nine red fox tails and the fox ears atop her head. Until then he was too surprised by everything else to actually notice them. "Yeah, I died. But now I've somehow came back to life. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I think it had to do with the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.

Kushina nodded again and moved closer to him. This time he didn't object and let her sit next to him, with her arm around him. "Yes Naruto. The fox is close to our family. It always was. The Yondaime Hokage gave you some of it's power but it acted up when you were about to die. The power protected you, and I think it brought me back to life too. I'm naked and dirty because I just dug myself out of my grave."

"But why do you have tails?" Naruto asked.

Kushina looked at her tails, making a few of them wag. "I'm not entirely sure why, but... when the Kyuubi's power brought me back, I think it turned me into a Kyuubi myself. I seem to know a lot of things about fox demons and all other demons in general too. I feel stronger and smarter than I did before. Maybe the change made me smarter to help me cope with it better. Also, the power affected you too. Look at yourself son."

Naruto wondered what she meant but he checked himself as told. He was shocked to see three red fox tails attached to himself, and he felt a pair of fox ears atop his head. He couldn't see it, but his yellow hair was now red too, but still spiked up. "What happened to me?"

"Some of the power protected you by turning you into a fox demon like me. Just not as powerful. I'm actually kind of surprised you have three tails instead of just one." Kushina explained.

"But now everyone will hate me even more than they already do!" Naruto claimed in a panic.

"Why would everyone hate you? Or tell you you have no mother?" Kushina asked.

The little boy was hesitant to answer. "I don't know."

"Who takes care of you?" Kushina asked, her voice starting to sound angry but not at him.

Naruto sniffled but didn't cry. "The old man gave me a place to live and some money to use, and this nice guy at a ramen stand helps me with food and other things, but no one else does."

Kushina pulled him onto her lap, which made him freeze in surprise and anticipation of anything that could follow. "But now I'm here to protect you, my son. And since I've gained quite a bit of knowledge from the old kyuubi, I can teach you how to fight back if they try to kill you again."

Naruto didn't know what to say. "You... really care about me?"

She nodded. "Why wouldn't I? I'm not going to leave you again Naruto. Mom's here to protect you." She embraced him in a hug and he soon hugged her back, crying happily. Because of his position, he didn't see her own smile.

* * *

><p>"Lord Hokage! Lord Hokage!" Several concerned voices called out as the old man walked thru the streets searching for Naruto.<p>

He stopped and allowed Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza to approach him. They looked like they had seen a ghost, and they were professional ninja who had little to actually be afraid of by this point. "What's wrong?"

"It's our kids! Something's happened to them!" Inoichi said. "My daughter's hair just turned aqua blue for no reason."

"Her hair changed color?" Sarutobi asked, not seeing the harm.

"My son just grew two small horns." Chouza added.

"What?" Sarutobi asked.

Shikaku nodded. "And my son just grew black bird wings on his back. And his feet look like a birds too."

"Lord Hokage!" A civilian woman shouted as she ran up to the village leader holding a bundle. "What's wrong with my baby?" She held up her child and everyone saw it had only one eye. "She had two eyes right before that red light. What happened to my baby?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." He said before turning back to the Ino-Shika-Chou trio. "Tell half the ninja to secure the village border and make sure no one gets in or out. Tell the other half to check on who's all in some manner different than normal for them. I'm going to go look for Naruto."

"Do you think he did this?" Inoichi asked.

"I don't think so, but I'm certain that red light was the kyuubi's chakra. If something happened that wasn't an outside threat, which I strongly suspect, then I want to be certain for myself what his involvement is."

"What do you suspect sir, because I have no idea." Chouza asked.

Sarutobi looked hesitant to answer. "In all honesty, neither do I." He then headed off, looking for any sign of Naruto.

* * *

><p>"Okay Naruto, before we go anywhere, I'm going to show you something you'll need to know." Kushina told Naruto.<p>

"What is it?"

"We need to hide our new forms for now. Not for long, but at least until I can tell everyone what just happened. If I can do it right, then you'll be a lot happier. And if I screw up, well, leave that to me." Kushina said with a smile. Naruto just nodded, too happy to have his mother back to care about much else. "I'm going to show you an easy demon technique, the ability to disguise yourself as a human. Since we're both kitsune, it's much easier for us than for others, but you'll still need practice until you can do it by will alone."

Kushina formed half of the ram hand sign on her right hand and suddenly turned into a normal human version of herself, complete with clothes. There was no smoke like with the henge, she just changed right before Naruto's eyes.

"Whoa! How do I do that?" Naruto asked.

"Just make that same hand sign, focus your chakra around your whole body, and think about how you'd look before you changed. It may not work the first time so don't be upset if you don't get it."

Naruto tried it and closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember how he used to look at the start of this day. He tried to coat as much chakra as possible on his skin, feeling a sort of tickle while doing so. Then he stopped, but felt no different. "Did I do it?"

Kushina shook her head. "'Fraid not. Try again, but try a bit longer this time." Naruto tried again, and this time succeeded in returning to his normal self. Kushina smiled. "Perfect. You look like your normal self again."

"Umm... Mom? If this is the first time you've seen me, how do you know what my normal self looks like?" Naruto asked.

"Well... I did see you when you were born. You were blonde back then with whiskers so I just assumed you still had those traits."

Naruto nodded, accepting that explanation. "So what do we do now?"

"I have a feeling we better go talk to the hokage about this and more."

"More?"

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, there's going to be a lot of explaining to do. Just let me do the talking son. I'm the one who knows just what's going on thanks to the shinigami." Naruto nodded again. Kushina stood up, and Naruto stood close to her. She smiled and held his hand. "Let's go find the hokage. Who is it now?"

"An old guy who smokes a lot." Naruto innocently answered.

Kushina laughed. "Sounds like Sarutobi."

"He invited me to his big room today, but when a ninja came to guide me there instead of him, halfway there he kicked me in the head and shouted something to everyone around." Naruto continued. "Then the chasing started."

Kushina growled. "This village has a lot to answer for."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi had been looking for Naruto for no less than twenty minutes, without finding anything. 'I wish I had my crystal ball with me.' Unfortunately, due to the seals needed to make the crystal ball work, and the fragility of the item itself, it wasn't designed for portable use.<p>

When the old man stopped on top of a building to look around the immediate area, an Anbu approached him. "Excuse me Hokage-sama, but there's a matter at the tower that requires your immediate attention."

'What I'm doing now requires it too.' Sarutobi told himself. "What is it then? I'll decide if it's more urgent than what I'm doing now."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. All I can tell you is that Naruto is at the tower now... with a woman claiming to be his mother." The Anbu answered.

Sarutobi blinked several times. "You're right, I don't believe you. But if Naruto's there, I will go."

Sarutobi and the Anbu started leaping towards the tower, all the while hearing more cries of the worried parents down below regarding their children. He wanted to tell them everything was going to be alright and there was nothing to worry about, but sadly even he didn't buy that story. There was nothing 'alright' about a situation where children and babies suddenly and inexplicably had new features such as extra limbs or horns. And from what he heard in the commotion, this was apparently a village-wide problem.

But the old man had something else on his mind once he reached his destination, and saw Kushina leaning against the door with Naruto standing right next to her, both trying to look patient. There were some Anbu standing around, keeping their eyes on the two but clearly keeping their distance away as well. There was also some blood on the ground, indicating someone had gotten hurt and most likely taken away as no one present looked hurt.

Kushina saw Sarutobi, and sent him a frightening smile. "Hello old man."

Sarutobi felt like his very soul had been put on ice at this greeting. "Who...? Who are you?"

"I think you know who I am."

Sarutobi still didn't believe his eyes, and tried a genjutsu release. It didn't work, so he tried it again. And again.

Kushina sighed. "Enough old man. If I was someone in disguise, wouldn't I have chosen a more believable one than this?"

"You can't be Kushina Uzumaki! I saw her die myself!"

Naruto looked shocked. "You knew my mom? But you always told me you didn't."

"Now's not the time Naruto." Sarutobi told the child without even looking at him. "How can I know you're really who you claim to be?"

"Your wife was my midwife." Kushina plainly answered.

"Not good enough." The hokage claimed.

"My nickname as a kid was Tomato."

"Anyone who knows Kushina could have told me that." Sarutobi commented.

"When you gave my husband the hokage job instead of me, you told me, and I quote, 'At least you're the power behind the power. If he gets out of line, you can always cut him off in bed. Just like every hokage's wife has done before.'" Kushina added.

Sarutobi was silent. "Okay, for now I'm convinced. But I'm still going to require further evidence to remove all doubt."

Kushina looked undaunted. "I'm sure I can convince you I am who I say I am, but I'm sure you've got a bigger thing to worry about than me being here."

Sarutobi nodded. "You're right, I do."

"You're in luck, because I know what's going on."

Sarutobi looked hopefully. "You do? How?"

"Gather everyone in charge of Konoha. I'd prefer to only tell this once and get all questions out of the way." The red-haired woman told the sandaime.

* * *

><p>Within the hour, the entire ruling council of Konoha was gathered in their meeting room. At Kushina's request more were there too so everyone could hear the news she was about to impart on them. Joining the council at Kushina's recommendation was the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department, head of the Anbu forces and hunter ninja, headmaster of Konoha's orphanage, the principal of Konoha's ninja academy, and manager of Konoha's utilities.<p>

Kushina and Naruto were not in the room, as she knew if people went in there seeing them right away it would cause enough trouble to make getting to the point of the meeting difficult. So for now they waited until Sarutobi made them settle down.

That wasn't easy as almost every member in the gathered group was a parent or grandparent who had an affected child. Affected by what, and why, they didn't know, but they placed all their hopes in Sarutobi for knowing the situation and how to regain normalcy for them. That didn't mean they stopped voicing their problems and concerns amongst themselves when he actually came into the room and sat down.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Sarutobi roared, effectively silencing the commotion. "I am well aware that something extremely unusual has occurred and you are all worried. I am too. I do not happen to understand this situation, what caused it, or what to do about it, but I know someone who does." He then motioned to the Anbu in the room stationed there to enforce order if someone got out of hand, and the two masked shinobi opened the door.

In stepped Kushina, carrying Naruto on her shoulders. The young boy was glad to experience this act, having seen other kids do it before, but overall he was nervous being in this room with so many upset adults. He had never actually been summoned to the council before, but he could feel the KI at him when he was noticed.

"So the demon brat is responsible?" One of the civilians asked venomously. This particular civilian was the same long-haired man who had attacked Naruto in the fox hunt mob previously.

Kushina glared at him, her presence being the biggest reason the KI at Naruto wasn't as large as it might have been. Most of the people in this room were surprised to see her alive again, surprised enough that the fact Naruto was potentially connected to this situation wasn't as important to them for the moment.

"Care to say that to my face?" Kushina told the civilian who mouthed off to her.

"Kushina, before you get sidetracked, I think you should tell everyone here what you wanted to." Sarutobi spoke up.

The aforementioned woman took a deep breath to calm down, then looked over the whole room calmly. "Okay then, everyone, I am indeed Kushina Namikaze, formerly Kushina Uzumaki." She held out her right hand to silence any and every upcoming question. "I have been brought back to life by the grace of Kami and another circumstance, but I will go into detail on that later, as my other explanation will help make that subject make more sense."

"But before I answer ANY questions, I have one of my own." She said before giving everyone in the room a cold angry look. "Why the hell has no one been looking after my son all this time?"

"Your son?" Fugaku Uchiha asked.

Kushina used her free hand to point up at Naruto, making almost everyone either gasp or glare.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" The same civilian who badmouthed and assaulted Naruto before shouted. "There's no way that freak is your son!"

Kushina reacted by extending her hand and, without any hand signs, created a ball of blood red fire that shot out at this councilor and hit him. He burned much quicker than expected and before anyone could even get out of their chair, he was a pile of ashes.

"If anyone wants to avenge that bastard, come and get me." Kushina said daringly, flexing her fingers as if brandishing claws. No one made a move.

"What was that you just did, Kushina?" Sarutobi asked.

"A... gift of sorts, thanks to my resurrection." She answered, then took Naruto off her shoulders, setting him on the floor beside her. "But before I say more, I'll have to address the real issue here. Thanks to the Shinigami and Kyuubi, I know what happened to all your children."

Everyone leaned forward to hear this. "For some reason I can only guess at, and WILL get answers to today," She said rather threateningly before returning her tone to normal. "My _son_ Naruto was being attacked by a group of people, including that piece of filth I was incinerated. The Kyuubi, as desperate to live as those bastards were to kill, acted against the seal holding it captive, and overpowered it."

"So the Kyuubi is loose?" Homura Mitokado asked, but only to confirm what he had heard.

"Technically, yes, but officially, no." Kushina replied. "The seal did it's job and killed the Kyuubi's spirit, but it wasn't strong enough to contain it's youki anymore and released it over Konoha."

"So that's what that red glow was? The Kyuubi's released chakra?" Sarutobi asked.

Kushina shook her head. "No, it was the youki, not the chakra. As you should know, chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. For humans, the spiritual energy is called ki, but for demons that energy is called youki. With the seal unable to contain it anymore, it had to go somewhere."

"What about the spirit of the fox? Or the physical energy?" Shikaku Nara asked.

"Like I said before, the seal killed the spirit so the fox is dead. As for the physical energy, since there was no body in the seal there wasn't that much there in the first place. What little there was went to me, which is what brought me back to life."

"Why you?" A female civilian council member asked.

"I have a former connection to the fox, so it's energy was naturally drawn to me even in death. Some of its youki was absorbed by me too, but not all of it. A side effect of this was that I was changed a bit." Kushina explained before undoing her disguise, revealing her new fox ears and nine tails. She still kept her clothes on though. "According to the Shinigami, and the wisdom of the fox I gained from its youki, I've apparently become a new nine-tailed fox demon."

All eyes bugged out at seeing her new look. Shibi Aburame actually removed his sunglasses to get a better look. "So you're telling us that the Kyuubi that attacked us is dead, and the Shinigami gave you a second chance to live but as a demon rather than a human?" The bug user asked.

Kushina nodded. "Rest assured everyone, my personality has been unaffected. Only my body has changed. And apparently... mine wasn't the only one." She then touched Naruto's head, releasing his disguise and making everyone see his new red-haired, fox-featured form. He clinged to Kushina's leg like a frightened child would normally do.

"Naruto changed too." Sarutobi stated calmly, almost sagely.

Kushina gave her own sagely look to him. "Yes, my son changed into a demon because of the Kyuubi's released youki." Then she crossed her arms. "And so did every other child in Konoha."


	2. Chapter 2

Throughout Konoha, the panic continued, as parents had no idea what had happened to their children. They talked with their neighbors, their friends, their extended families, and found two things always constant. Every child was now physically different in some way, sometimes only slightly but often quite drastically, and so far no affected child appeared to be older than eight years of age. No explanation could be offered, but in every case, those were the noticeable facts.

At the advice of their husbands, Yoshino Nara, Izumi Yamanaka, and Chihiro Akimichi were together with their children at theNarahousehold. And as frightened as they were about this change, the affected children were even more worried. Shikamaru was pressing himself against the wall, as if trying to hide the new wings on his back, Ino looked at her blue hair in a mirror, as if trying to deny it was really hers, and Chouji wore a hat to cover his new pair of stubby horns.

Yoshino came up to her son and hugged him, being careful of his wings. "It's okay son, everything's going to be alright when Daddy comes home from his emergency meeting."

"What happened to me Mom?" Shikamaru asked for the umpteenth time.

"I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't. Your father is trying to find out now."

Chouji walked up to his friend. "Hey Shika, can you fly with those?" When he talked one could see his upper and lower canine teeth had elongated, giving him four fangs.

"I... suppose I could, but I don't know how."

Ino looked at him enviously. "If you can fly Shikamaru, you're the lucky one of us."

The young Narafrowned. "_You're_ the lucky one Ino. Me and Chouji can't go outside anymore without hiding ourselves now. But you? All you have is a new hair color so you don't have to worry about anything."

"Settle down kids." Ino's mother told them all.

"How about some cookies?" Chouji's mother asked. Her usual remedy for fussy kids was giving them sweets.

"Actually Mom, I'm craving some steak for some reason." Chouji told her, not understanding why he wanted what he asked for. Judging by the looks he received, neither did anyone else.

* * *

><p>Back in the council room, Kushina paused to give everyone some time to let her declaration sink in. As she did, she grabbed a chair placed against the wall and moved it to where she had been standing, then sat down in it and placed Naruto on her lap.<p>

Shikaku was the first to speak up. "So you're telling us that the abundance of energy from the fox affected our children by transforming them all into monsters?"

"I wouldn't say monster. After all, to me the people that were about to kill Naruto were monsters." Kushina replied.

"But they are in fact not homo sapiens, right?" Shibi asked.

Kushina nodded. "Correct. I would call them demons if you _must_ give them a collective name."

"I must ask, why are they not all fox demons?" Inoichi asked. "I saw several affected children including my own daughter and I know they are not all the same demon now. Why is that? Since the original demon was a fox-"

"You'd expect everyone affected to be a fox demon too." Kushina finished for him. "I understand your reasoning perfectly sir, and fortunately I can explain that. You see, the youki all may have been identical, but the children weren't. The youki they absorbed had great life-altering effects on their own ki and physical energy, and they all reacted to it in different ways. Several factors included age, the pre-existing element of the chakra, the presence of a kekkei genkai, their blood type, their health, their diet, and much much more. It's probably impossible to tell for absolute certain what made each one of them into what they are, but because they were all unique, they couldn't all become the same thing. Not to say that no two children are not the same type of demon here. With the sheer number of children within these walls, it would be too unlikely that all of them would be one of a kind."

"So you two became foxes because of your connections to the Kyuubi I'm presuming?" Koharu Utatane asked.

Kushina shrugged. "There may be more to it than that, but yeah, that's good enough explanation to me. Fortunately for you, I'm the only adult that was affected. According to the Shinigami, only those one year older than my son and everyone younger was transformed. So only the kids between ages 0 and 7, and still in the womb too, were affected. All others should still be human."

"Then it's obvious what we must do." A civilian member said. "We must gather all the demons in one place and kill each and every one of them then get to work replacing the youngest generation with genuine human children."

Everyone looked at this civilian with either rage or disgust at this idea, even the Naruto-haters. Kushina glared the hardest at him. "Before I kill you for that, let me make one thing clear first. Such an effort is futile as the Shinigami said for the next year, maybe even longer, all women in this village will conceive only pure-bred demons no matter who the father is, thanks to lingering youki residing in their ovaries that will, in time, wear away. Do you still think such an idea is something we should actually do?"

"How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"Can you take that risk?" Kushina asked back.

"She is right." Tsume Inuzuka added, addressing the civilian. "There's nothing smart about what you suggested. The future of our village is dependent on our children and to kill off an entire generation will severely cripple our numbers in later years. If we did what you suggested, we'd have to bring in a large number of women from outside Konoha to breed like rabbits and that's a near impossible effort."

"You suggest we let some demons grow up to become ninjas then?" The civilian asked. "How would we know they wouldn't turn against us by then?"

"You can't. You just have to trust they were raised well enough to not turn against their village." Kushina answered. "Think about it. What's to stop the Hyuuga from using their eyes to look everywhere people don't want someone to look? What's to stop the Uchiha from using their eyes for stealing clan techniques and taking control of someone's mind on a whim? What's to stop the Akimichi from becoming giants and stepping on all of us like bugs? They're all humans, and they're just as dangerous as any demon can be, but I don't hear you recommending_ they_ be put to death?"

"She's right." Koharu said with a nod. "Anyone can be dangerous; all you can do is hope their sense of morality keeps them from being so. We should look at this situation in a positive light."

Homura nodded. "I agree. If you think about it, every child now has a kekkei genkai they could use and could be taught to be the most unstoppable ninja army the world has ever seen."

Fugaku looked at Kushina. "If you don't mind me asking, what does this change of species mean for children who already had kekkei genkai?"

"They shouldn't lose it if that's what you're worried about Fugaku. They should have it incorporated into their new selves and skills now. I suspect that many children have become demons appropriate for the clan's genetic tendencies." Kushina answered.

'So Sasuke should have the strength of a monster combined with his sharingan? Maybe now he'll actually be as decent as his brother.' Fugaku told himself.

"How is Mikoto by the way?" Kushina asked.

"She's fine, still a stay-at-home mother watching over our youngest. She'll be glad to see you alive again." The Uchiha head answered.

Kushina smiled. "I'm glad."

A different civilian coughed. "If we can get back on course, while I don't believe killing _all_ the children in the village is a good idea, we must still ensure that we are in no danger from them. So what if we just eliminate the ones that have the highest potential for being uncontrollable? Like the boy here?"

Kushina growled, the fur on her tails bristling. "Who here has the right to determine which children are dangerous and which children are 'safe enough'? What would you do if _your_ child was one of the ones others considered too dangerous?"

That one statement made everyone in the room stiffen. To a point, each of them had thought up the possible need to retain or handle in some harsh way the new demonized children, but when it came to their _own_ children being at such risk, they didn't like the taste it left in their mouths.

Kushina looked over the whole room with disgust. "You're so quick to point the finger at someone else's child, especially my own, but when it's _your_ child who's being accused you suddenly gain restraint and a tolerance for demons? So how can you all expect to handle this situation when you all expect everyone _but_ you to make sacrifices? The only fair choice is for all children to be handled the same way. No one person or committee has the right to play favorites with the lives of children. If even so much as _one_ child, even Naruto, deserves to die for no reason more than being a demon, then _all_ do, for they are all demons now."

"I agree with Kushina." Sarutobi proclaimed. "I declare a new law for this situation. If anyone, and I mean ANYONE, including those in this room, kills a demonized child for any reason short of self-defense, they themselves will be put to death." Almost everyone in the room, even civilians, nodded in approval of this. The only ones who didn't were Ibiki and Fugaku. "Care to explain your disagreement you two?"

Ibiki spoke first. "Oh I don't disagree Lord Hokage. I'm just wondering how we can confirm a self-defense claim can be proven when such a claim is inevitably brought up."

"Bring me in and I'll find out." Kushina claimed. "I'll be able to notice anything not right in their scent if they're lying."

Ibiki nodded, then Fugaku spoke. "I agree such a law is needed, but I worry how will we handle these children if we know little about them and are forbidden to get tough on them."

Kushina smiled. "Luckily thanks to my transformation I now have a complete knowledge of everything regarding demons. I'm like a walking demon encyclopedia. I can tell the children and their parents everything they need to know to raise them the proper and safe way while keeping them in line."

"How fortunate!" Koharu said.

"But if I am to do so I will demand two things first." Kushina declared, making everyone, especially Sarutobi curious. "First, I demand payment, since after being dead for six years I'm a little short on money. But not just a simple paycheck from this either; as wife of Minato Namikaze I have the right to reclaim any property, physical and financial, we left behind for our son to inherit." She couldn't help but notice that everyone in the room got nervous, making her arch an eyebrow. "Is there something I should know about?"

"It's just that..." Homura said with much hesitation. "A large portion of the Namikaze fortune went into funding repairs for Konoha after the Kyuubi attack. Without it, we would have needed twice as long to repair our homes and defenses properly and been more vulnerable to outside attack."

Kushina frowned deeply. "You _stole_ my husband's money? My son's inheritance?"

"Well, after sacrificing his life to save the village, we felt he wouldn't mind his money going to putting it back on it's feet." Homura defended.

Kushina only frowned deeper. "You stole my husband's money! You stole my son's inheritance!" She repeated those words, this time without any hint of a question.

"It was for the greater good."

"Call it whatever you want, theft is still theft." Kushina responded.

"We understand your displeasure Kushina, but can you say Minato would not have approved our actions?" Tsume asked, sounding sincere rather than hoping to cover up her tracks.

Kushina gave the Inuzuka matriarch a flat look before giving it to everyone in the room besides Naruto too. "Answer me this: Why is it better to honor my husband by using his property as your own, assuming he'd want it done, rather than obey his dying wish, which you should all know for a fact is something he wanted?"

Everyone was silent for a time, letting that question sink in and trying to find a way to answer it. Sarutobi spoke first. "How much about Naruto's life do you know, Kushina?"

"I told Mom everything I know old man." Naruto innocently exclaimed.

"Did you expect him not to?" Kushina asked Sarutobi. "He told me how he lived alone, was never told he had parents except by people saying we 'abandoned' him for being a monster, can't go in most stores and has no friends. Tell me, HOW THE HELL IS THAT HONORING MINATO'S AND MY DYING WISH?"

The amount of raw fury radiating off the now-demon woman made everyone, even Naruto, afraid. When she saw this, she hugged him and stroked his hair, making him wag his three fox tails.

"We have tried, Kushina, we truly have." Sarutobi managed to tell her. "But when word got out that Naruto held the Kyuubi, we had a big problem on our hands. The general population of the village were in a great deal of grief and in their state of mind felt that if the only way to end the threat of the fox once and for all was to kill one defenseless baby... apparently they were willing to deal with that kind of blood on their hands."

"Who told the village?"

"I don't know. To this day we still can't figure out who leaked that information out. We did not intend to release that data on the grounds that people would be wary of the young boy, but someone sought to do it anyway and maybe even started the propaganda against him."

"Why has no one raised him?" Kushina asked, this time sounding calmer but no less offended.

"None of the clans can adopt him because it was mutually decided that giving one clan sole custody over him would inevitably create a power struggle between clans and a possible civil war." Koharu calmly reported. "And no civilian family could because they feared they'd lose any ability to gain work and support themselves, let alone young Naruto, without any income."

"In the end, the best solution we could create was a small nonthreatening apartment in an easily accessible location for most people so caretakers from the clans could reach him and care for him at their convenience." Homura added. "Generally he got at least one visitor a day to maintain the stability and livability of the residence and teach him things like how to talk, read, write, and more, and even shop for his supplies. The only thing we couldn't provide for him was a permanent caretaker."

"Then why did my son tell me that no one helps him except a ramen stand owner?" Kushina asked harshly.

Sarutobi looked directly at Naruto this time. "I guess it's because he's the only one who gives Naruto his favorite food rather than healthy food."

Kushina looked down at her son. "Naruto, don't mislead me like that." He sadly nodded, looking like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Then Kushina looked directly back at Sarutobi rather than look over the council in general. "What about Jiraiya? Or Tsunade? Or even Kakashi? Where were they?"

Sarutobi gulped nervously, afraid that Kushina would get out of hand right after this answer if none other had set her off just yet. "Jiraiya's involvement is complicated. He still has to maintain his spy network to keep our village, and ultimately Naruto, safe. He has made it back many times to care for your son, back before Naruto was old enough to properly remember by now, and Jiraiya tended to use him as a way to get women interested in him. It usually didn't turn out so well, especially once they recognized Naruto or Jiraiya's perverse intentions. So I pretty much told him to avoid direct involvement with Naruto until he was an official ninja, for Naruto's sake, but he could still offer your son help in other ways. Which he has. A good portion of the money Jiraiya earns writing his books goes to Naruto's budget."

"Kakashi helps by being one of the many who provide help for Naruto right at home and in the market." The Hokage continued. "He buys Naruto's food some days and has taught him how to read and prepare simple meals like instant ramen. And when you consider how much he likes Jiraiya's books, he helps out more than enough money-wise. He does not know who Naruto's father is, but only because if he did know, he'd be less likely to leave the village on the missions we still require him for in favor of training Naruto before he's ready to learn all Kakashi can offer."

Kushina nodded, not liking these answers but understanding their point of view on them. Now however, Sarutobi looked a bit worried to say more, and wiped some sweat off his forehead. "And in regards to Tsunade... she said she had better things to do than babysit. I'm presuming she believed someone was already watching Naruto when she said that."

The red-haired woman frowned harder. "And you didn't tell her otherwise?" The old man didn't respond. "And what exactly were these 'better things to do'?" Again, he didn't respond. "You don't honestly expect me to believe you haven't been keeping tabs on your own student all these years. Surely you must have some idea of where she's been and what she's been doing."

"Promise you won't break something if I tell you?" Sarutobi asked.

"No." Kushina flatly answered with her arms crossed.

Several people sighed in resignation alongside Sarutobi. "Fine. Tsunade has... been working on handling her emotional trauma these past few years by taking an extended break from duty away from the village in order to relax and cope with her internal issues as best she can, so one day she can return here in a state of mind that can be beneficial to others."

Kushina didn't know if she should laugh or glare. "So she's wallowing in self pity while running around looking for booze and casinos." Everyone gave her startled looks, some for her callous disregard for Tsunade, others for how surprisingly accurate her claim was. "I did know Tsunade before I died, remember? And I was a jounin too. You can sugarcoat her behavior all you want, but don't insult me by thinking I can't see the truth behind your words."

"Care to explain how you came to that conclusion?" Shikaku curiously asked.

"She's working on handling emotional issues, means she's very unhappy. She's on a break from the village, means she doesn't want to be around things that remind her of something or blames the village for something that happened to her. She's been doing this for years, means she's not getting any better, only worse and likely self-absorbed in her pain by now. And she's coping as best she can, means she's doing the things she most enjoys, which is gambling and drinking. So collectively, she's been hurt and is choosing to run from her problems rather than face them."

Sarutobi couldn't help but feel proud of her sharp mind right then. "You're pretty accurate Kushina, although I wouldn't have put it the way you did. Anyway, the reason we don't insist she come back and fulfill her duty is that we fear in her state of mind, her presence will do Naruto more harm than good."

"I can accept that, and to a point the others and their reasons. but that doesn't mean I like this." Kushina told them, allowing them to relax a bit. "How much of my son's inheritance is left? And what about our home?"

Suddenly all eyes turned to Fugaku, who seemed slightly hesitant before answering, "The Namikaze Estate and Mansion has been made into the new Police Headquarters."

Everyone felt a wave of killer intent from Kushina. "You are in my husband's home?" She said through gritted teeth, baring her fangs.

The Head Uchiha stood his ground despite the threat display. "The former headquarters was in ruins after the attack, and the Namikaze property was an ideal spot for the new one. The grounds there were large enough for training areas and it had enough rooms to serve our purposes, and for the last six years it has." He said as he matched Kushina's gaze.

"What was wrong with the original site?" Kushina asked, the message being obvious: Why relocate rather than just rebuild?

"Nothing. However, we took the chance to renovate and improve the Police Headquarters so we could do our job better, and the Namikaze grounds were more sufficently sized for our needs." Fugaku explained.

Kushina didn't look convinced. "Tell me Fugaku, who provided the funds for this improvement? The Uchiha, or the Namikaze?" All eyes were on the Uchiha head, and he was unable to answer, which was all the answer Kushina needed. "I thought so." She then stood up again. "This is what you are going to do, you will remove yourself and your police out of my house, because with my husband's death, I am inheritor of his estates, and when Naruto comes of age he will claim what is his by right."

Fugaku suddenly turned to Sarutobi, expecting some support. " Lord Hokage, the Police Force has been in the Namikaze estate for six years now. You surely understand that we cant just move everything out-"

"Do not play that card with me Fugaku. You moved into the mansion in one day, you can move out in the same amount of time." Sarutobi said with total confidence and authority.

The Uchiha clenched his fists, but knowing he did not have the support necessary he lowered his head. "As you wish, Lord Hokage. I will remove my Police Force from the mansion and relocate them to the Uchiha Estate."

Kushina smiled and sat back down again. She had never liked Fugaku that much despite his connection to Mikoto and she knew Minato had felt the same way. He often said that Fugaku seemed to view the Uchiha as if they were separate or greater than the rest of the village since they made up a bulk of the internal security. Like somehow they were the law itself, the traditional mindset of the dirty cop. "Now what about all of my family's personal belongings that were in the mansion at the time? Jutsu scrolls, personal articles of value, clothing, furniture, all of that?"

"It was removed, all the lesser items were placed into storage. However the scrolls, seeing how they held important jutsus that made the Forth Hokage such a feared ninja were placed under protection." Danzo answered, having been the one who personally took the scrolls. "The only issue was, we couldn't open them let alone read them."

"Minato pleased a special seal onto them, only he himself, or others he specified could open the scrolls. I am one of those people." Kushina said.

"Then we shall return them to you post haste, it will be good to know that the Yellow Flash's jutsus will return." Danzo said as he bowed his head. 'I should try to make one more effort to open them myself. If she's right however, then maybe it's smarter to let her have them then take what I want after she lets her offspring learn from them.'

"Now what about the Namikaze accounts?"

"About 40% remains." Koharu answered. "But the strange thing is, we're sure we only took 50% to fund repairs, so we believe the other 10% gone was taken by someone we've yet to identify, for reasons we can only guess."

"Haven't you interrogated all the council members over the past few years to see if it was one of them?" Kushina asked. "Only someone in that position would have access to the funds, and some have already proven to have little to no respect for my son."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes we have, and we've confirmed it's not one of them."

"So someone found out about my son, spread news about him being a jinchuuriki before anyone here could tell anyone any details or stop him or her, told the information in a manner to cause panic amongst the villagers rather than respect for Naruto, completely omitted any details regarding my son's heritage at the same time, and is likely the same person who stole a small portion of my son's money in hopes no one would notice since it was being used by others too." Kushina summarized, looking ready to kill someone slowly. "And for six years they've gotten away with this."

Kushina looked down at Naruto. "Son, could you please stand up for a minute?" He got off her lap, allowing Kushina to stand up as well. She looked over the entire council, baring her fangs. "When I find this person, I will kill them! I will not ask for an explanation, I will not ask for permission, I will not show the mercy I have currently shown others for disrespecting my son, and violating my husbands home. I will simply gut them like a fish. And if anyone dares stop me, they will be no less guilty in my eyes. Am I clear?"

Even Ibiki wanted to cower in the face of this vengeful demoness. But no one challenged her claim.

Kushina then sat down and crossed her arms, Naruto not yet regaining his seat on her lap. "But until that time comes, there's something I think Konoha owes my son and me for the efforts we've made for this village that apparently were never appreciated."

"Never appreciated?" Homura asked.

Kushina started to look bored. "I gave my life to seal away the... 'original' kyuubi per say, and Naruto kept the demon from attacking every day, but who outside this room honored our sacrifices? The way I see it, Konoha owes Naruto big time, and I intend to see him get what he deserves even if it means I have to cremate a few more idiots like that other guy first."

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Kushina, I cannot have you go around killing people just because they anger you."

The look she gave him clearly indicated that was the wrong thing to say. "But you can allow people to attack my son in broad daylight when they decide to ignore your orders? Tell me old man, why was my son out on the streets alone during a time when people are most likely to do harm to him? Were you setting him up as bait? And are you aware that while attacking him, one of the people doing so told my son that civilians aren't obligated to obey the Hokage? Now where would they get an idea like that?"

A councilwoman arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying we've encouraged this unacceptable behavior in our own citizens?"

Kushina turned her head slowly towards the asking woman to give her upset look even more power behind it. "_Something's_ obviously giving them the idea that they can get away with this behavior." Then she turned, a little quicker this time, towards Sarutobi. "Whatever you've been doing these past six years to keep them in line is clearly not working. And now it's only going to get worse unless you do something about it."

"Get worse how?" The representative for the Kurama clan asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Just a few moments ago there were declarations made in this room that Naruto and other children should die for being demons. What makes you think there aren't others in this village that will think the same thing? And apparently they're willing to ignore laws that they don't agree with so there's bound to be a lot of attempted murders really soon."

Shibi nodded. "She's right. It's only logical that some people will behave this way if they hear the children here have become demons."

Everyone was silent, until Fugaku spoke. "So what do we do about it?"

"Do you _really_ have to ask that?" Kushina asked. When he didn't respond, she sighed in irritation. "Enforce the law like it was meant to be enforced, rather than hope people will obey it on their own which they have not in the past. Unless you want some genocide in this village, that is."

"Genocide?" Several people in the room repeated.

Kushina palmed her face and made an annoyed growl. "Think about it you idiots! You told people not to mistreat Naruto but they did it anyway. Do you think they're going to act differently if you tell everyone what I've told you? There _will_ be people who will go out and kill other children saying they're doing the right thing. Some may even try to kill their own children too. So what do you intend to do about it?"

No one said a word so Kushina kept talking. "Alright, when I have reclaimed mine and my sons home, I intend to open its gates for all orphaned and frightened children who have been turned into demons. A place for them to go where they will not be judged or treated as if they are something to feared, hated, and killed. It can be a place where they can be trained to use their new abilities."

Fugaku, seeing the fear and confusion in the faces of most of the council members, decided this was the opportunity to regain his foothold. "Trained to use their abilities, and how do we know you won't be training these children to be your own little army? To be turned against their parents and village, and usurp this council." He demanded.

There was a slight murmur of agreement amongst a select few, but Kushina still held her ground. "I am a loyal shinobi of this village, I always have been. My 'death' has not changed that. I will submit myself to open examination by teachers from the Academy or even your own police force, but can you say that as of this moment I am _not_ the most qualified person to teach these children?"

There was no argument and even Fugaku could not object.

"This is my offer to Konoha. I will create a home for all demon children that will not be accepted by their families, and I will teach all demon children and their guardians about what they now are and everything that comes with it. This means however that I cannot be listed as a mission-ready kunoichi as my services are more needed here than elsewhere." Kushina told them.

"But surely you can-" Danzo started.

"I wasn't finished!" Kushina all but shouted, making the mummy man shut up. "What I want in return is payment for my teachings and access to everything in my husband's and my name back, and the right to punish as I see fit the one who set my son up for a life of misery. Also, I request a seat on the council as representative of the demon population of this village." Everyone looked confused on that one. "If the ninja clans and civilian citizens can have representatives, why can't the demon inhabitants have a member to specifically speak for their needs and concerns?" She then focused straight at Sarutobi. "These terms are non-negotiable."

"How about if-"

"I SAID NON-NEGOTIABLE!" Kushina screamed.

Sarutobi needed a moment to recompose himself after that shout, maybe because reacting too soon would make him appear feeble. "In that case, Kushina Namikaze, I approve of your request."

"Good." Kushina said smugly with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Is there anything else you wish to tell us?" The hokage asked, hoping they were done.

"No, that's all for now. The only things I can think of are a suggestion to have the guards on extra high alert tonight considering the hysteria bound to happen here, and the request to tell everyone to gather at the tower tomorrow so we can properly inform everyone of what happened tonight." The redhead replied.

Sarutobi nodded. "Good. With that out of the way, I declare this meeting adjourned. Everyone go home, get some rest, and try to comfort your young ones as best you can. And if you see anything unlawful happen, take action."

With that, the room emptied and Naruto led her mother back to his apartment for the night.

He slept the best he ever remembered sleeping that night, feeling safe and warm in her embrace.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Konoha was still uneased by this unknown catastrophe they had experienced. No actual harm had been done, except for some stray fires in some places caused by fire-breathing children who didn't know what they were doing, and one myopic villager who blamed Naruto for this and tried to kill him in his sleep but ended up killed by Kushina's claws instead.

Anbu went around town knocking on people's doors, telling them the Hokage wanted everyone to gather at the tower within the hour to hear an important announcement. No one decided this was something they didn't want to hear about, because even the childless inhabitants wanted to know what was going on.

Sarutobi was in his office, dreading what was about to happen. He had Anbu stationed everywhere and Kushina herself to fill in for him when he would be at a loss for words, but he could anticipate the disorder that was bound to befall the village before he even finished what he was about to tell them all.

"Don't wimp out on us now old man." Kushina, in her normal human form, told him in a friendly way. "Where's that Will of Fire now?"

"What do you expect from me? I've got to tell thousands of people that their children have become demons and hope no bloodshed starts before I finish. The thought alone makes me realize I'm getting too old for this crap."

"Well, I'd take the job for you, but I'm going to be busy helping the kids and I doubt Konoha's ready for a demon Hokage. Maybe someday, perhaps when this generation grows up, it will be possible. But not now." Kushina commented.

Sarutobi nodded. "I get the feeling you're right. What concerns me the most, aside from the potential riot, is I'm afraid that any hidden spies we have in our ranks may already be ready to tell their superiors about this. I can only hope that they waited to do so until after they've heard the announcement to come."

"A smart spy would. And leave that to me. I'm already on it." The redhead told him.

The Sandaime Hokage looked a tad bit unnerved. "I probably don't want to know how, am I right?"

"Not until after I'm done."

He shrugged. "Go ahead, as long as no one innocent gets hurt."

"That depends on your definition of innocent." Kushina commented, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The kind that says 'I've got a plan and I am so looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.'

* * *

><p>The whole crowd had gather at the base of the tower, standing in an open area around the foundation designed for important announcements such as the swearing in of a Hokage. Some people had to take a seat on the rooftops of nearby building instead, but there was enough room for everyone in the village.<p>

Sarutobi stood on the balcony meant for the Hokage to address the citizens from, with his two former teammates by his side. Kushina was behind him with Naruto on her shoulders, neither of them able to be seen by the citizens from their angle.

Homura stepped up to his friend's right side. "This won't be an easy one, will it old friend?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "I think I'd rather face down Orochimaru personally than do this. I mean, I'm supposed to tell a crowd that their children are now a different species. Not exactly something they teach Hokages to handle."

"Well, we've got your back if it gets rough." Koharu told him.

Sarutobi nodded and stepped towards the edge of the balcony, allowing everyone to see him. The Anbu cast a jutsu meant to amplify his voice so everyone could hear what he was saying, and in return he could hear anything people wanted to say to him, as long as they spoke one at a time.

The murmuring of the worried crowd became silenced when people saw their leader. They listened attentively, hoping that he knew what the problem was and how to undo it.

"People of Konoha, as all of you should be aware by now, last night we experienced a rather strange phenomenon that affected all of the youngest inhabitants. This was caused by the death of a demon within our walls."

He was interrupted by some people cheering for that news, believing Naruto was finally dead. It caused him to frown, but continue nonetheless.

"Apparently _some_ people in this village believe obeying the law is an option, not a requirement, and sought to do something very foolish last night. Their thoughtless actions last night resulted in one demon dying, but many more being born. That red glow many of you may have seen last night was released demon energy from the demon's death. That energy attached itself to anyone seven years old and younger, transforming them all into demons. Not half-demons, _full_ demons."

The crowd was stunned silent and immobile, so the old man took this chance to get some more in before anyone did anything about it. "We have a source confirm this and they say such a change is irreversible. But they fortunately know how to ensure that your children can keep their new powers under control and function as contributing members of society. So those of you who wish to know more about how to help your child, go to the Academy today with 50 ryo and the informant will let you know what your child is, how you can best care for them now, and what to expect from them."

Kushina whispered something into Koharu's ear while the Hokage had been talking, and the old woman now took the chance to whisper it to himself. He nodded, and then spoke again. "I wish I could tell you more, but the expert is probably better suited for that than I am. I will let them address you all and settle any concerns you may have before they go to the Academy for personal direct information. So without further ado, I give you our demon expert, Kushina Namikaze."

The name alone made many people gasp, either from the Kushina part or the Namikaze part. They thought this was some sort of joke, but those that knew the Red Hot Habenero recognized her right away when they saw her step up and take the Hokage's place. They were so shocked to see this woman back from the dead that the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was seated on her shoulders was completely overlooked by them.

Kushina smiled. "Before I say anything, there's one thing I must do first." She put Naruto down and started a fast set of twenty hand signs and called out no jutsu name as she raised her hands above her head when she finished. Then she slammed her open hands on the balcony railing, and everyone felt an invisible shockwave throughout the village.

For most people, it was no worse than feeling a heavy amount of bass from a loud stereo or speaker on the ground. But apparently for a few others it was much, much worse than that. Some people started coughing up blood and random bones started snapping for no obvious reason. All of the sufferers almost immediately found they were unable to stand and collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.

A few onlookers screamed, and the elders around Kushina dropped their jaws at seeing her commit such a gruesome act. "Do not feel bad for those that just died. I just now cast a specialized jutsu that would kill any traitors to this village. Everyone who died was secretly loyal to another village or organization that sought to use this knowledge against Konoha or its governing body. So don't mourn those that died. Because of their deaths, your children are now safe from outside harm."

'We had that many spies and traitors in our midst's?' Sarutobi asked himself. He would have expected only four at the most, maybe five, but the number of deaths at Kushina's anti-traitor jutsu was closer to forty. Maybe even more.

"Now that that's out of the way, I just want to say that if you want to know more about your children, come down to the Academy with them in an hour and I'll answer any questions you may have about them. One family at a time though, and bring 50 ryo with you as a service fee. I also want to let everyone know that there is a new law in effect that makes killing _any_ child for being a demon is punishable by death and it's a zero-tolerance policy. One I will enforce myself if I have to. And if for some reason there are any amongst you who cannot bring yourselves to accept your children and raise them, bring them down to the reinstated Namikaze residence and I can assure you they will be in good hands. Do not worry about your child's appearance, for I know a technique to make them look human so they do not have to go around in broad daylight as they do and make future spies and enemies curious. That is all."

She then turned away before anyone could ask her anything or object to anything she told them or did to the recently deceased.

She picked up Naruto who had been standing there. "Come along Naruto. We are going to go meet your new friends." She said as she started to carry him down from the balcony.

"Friends?" Naruto said, he sounded excited by hesitant as well.

"Yes, with so many demon children now, you are going to make so many new friends."

* * *

><p>In the Academy, Kushina was ushered into one of the classrooms and sat down at the teacher's desk.<p>

"Naruto, while we have some time to ourselves, I'll tell you a little about what we've become." Kushina said to get rid of the uncomfortable silence. Naruto listened on eagerly, since she didn't say anything about this last night. All they had talked about was what kind of person each one was, so they could reconnect. "There are four different types of demons, but some demons are more than one type. These types are animal, human, nature, and spirit. Animal-demons are obviously the ones that look like animals and human-demons are obviously the ones that look like humans in their normal form."

"Human-demons?" Naruto asked. "That sounds really weird."

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, it does. But there's no other name for them. They're called that because even though every demon to a point has the ability to take on human or animal form in order to hide, human-demons often don't need to disguise themselves as people to blend in. Or at least not as much as other demons do. Just like how animal-demons can hide themselves as animals really easily."

Naruto nodded and Kushina continued. "The other two types are much different than the first two. Nature-demons are the ones that are closely tied to the environment and elements. Sometimes they are called elemental-demons. These demons are close to nature and can impact it much more strongly than others can. They are often considered physical representations of the world around us in living form, like a storm or lake or tree brought to life. But they're not that common. Spirit-demons are the kind that can look like ghosts and spectres, and are often considered physical representations of the human spirit, like their emotions or motives. Those types are the rarest, and the hardest to get rid of most of the time."

"So what type are we?" Naruto asked. He didn't really understand everything his mother was saying, just enough to know there were several different classes of supernatural creatures.

"We are fox demons as you can tell, making us an animal-type demon. We can look like normal foxes but our best known form is that of a human with fox ears and tails. Fox demons can have multiple tails ranging from one to nine, the higher the number, the stronger their power. All fox demons are born with only one and later acquire more as they gain experience, but you have three, probably because of your own connection to me and the 'other' kyuubi. Among the most basic of our skills is illusion casting, fire spells, transforming, and when we're in a large group we can even control the weather to a small point. We can use most human jutsu too so in a way we're perfect for the job as ninja."

"Cool!" Naruto said excitedly.

Kushina nodded. "We are also considered to be among the strongest of the animal-demons. If not_ the_ strongest. Others can give us trouble, but a fox demon with several tails and good control over their powers is virtually unbeatable. However..." She placed her finger right between the eyes. "I don't want to ever see you act like you're invincible. Nobody is so strong they cannot be defeated. Look at the kyuubi; it was an S-ranked demon and it taken down by a single human. No demon is without weakness and humans love to kill demons once they learn what hurts a demon the most. A fox demon's biggest weakness is we have a hard time resisting sealing jutsu. Most seals can be quite painful or even lethal to us, so never let anyone claiming to be a seal expert put anything on you. Trying to break a seal on our own can either kill us or put us in a weaken state that could take years to recover from."

Naruto nodded in actual understanding that time. A knock at the door prevented him from asking more.

"Wow that was earlier than I expected. Come in!" Kushina told herself then shouted. The door opened to reveal Mikoto Uchiha with her son Sasuke. "Mikoto! What a pleasant surprise."

"Is it really you Kushina?" The Uchiha matriarch asked.

"Yeah it's me, back from the grave. I'd love to chat with you, but I"m going to have a full day today so we'll have to save it for tomorrow at earliest. So that's your son?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yeah, this is Sasuke. Is it true about him and all the others being demons now?"

Kushina nodded back. "Yes, but that doesn't mean he's not your son anymore. His body changed, not his soul."

Mikoto sighed. "That's a relief. I was afraid what would happen if that wasn't true. So what can you tell me?" She asked as she pulled out 50 ryo and handed it to Kushina.

The red-haired woman looked over the young Uchiha, checking his youki and sniffing him too. "Your son, Mikoto, is a vampire."

Mikoto looked like she had seen a ghost. "A vampire?"

"Yes, a vampire. A human-demon and considered the strongest one of it's class. Don't worry about what you've heard in books and movies, most of them only got it half-right. Vampires do need to drink blood but they can eat regular food too. They just can't metabolize it well enough to get all the nutrition they need out of it, so they drink fresh blood to get the proteins they need. It doesn't have to come from a person, donor blood from a hospital will do, but they tend to favor blood that's still warm. Animal blood will work just as fine. They only need to actually drink blood once a week, so you'll have time to figure out how to get him some."

Mikoto slowly nodded, still in a state of shock. Kushina continued. "Vampires also don't need to sleep during the day and can be out in sunlight. They just sunburn easily so they prefer being nocturnal, and they have night-vision so that's another reason. They can die from being out in the sun too long, but it's mainly from a really bad sunburn that kills them. So they tend to be more active at night for these reasons. They don't like garlic, but it's not lethal to them, just a strong allergy. They are incredible healers, able to help almost any wound in a matter of seconds and even regenerate lost body parts. The only wounds they can't regenerate are wounds to their hearts, which is why vampire slayers prefer to pierce their hearts to kill them. Decapitation is the only other wound they can't heal from, so that can kill them too."

The idea of someone killing Sasuke like that made both Uchiha look worried, so Kushina changed the subject. "Vampires are considered top-rank demons, often even the weakest of them being as strong as a B-ranked shinobi. They also can lift three or more times their own body weight and communicate with wolves and most vermin, like bats and rats. They can turn into bats, they can reflect in mirrors, and they can fly short distances in human form. Vampires do sometimes sleep in coffins, but there are two reasons for that. A coffin is the best way for them to sleep during the day and not be in the sunlight, and while vampires sleep, they tend to emit a defensive pheromone that smells like rotting flesh, which you may not want around your house. That scent is the main reason most people call vampires undead creatures rather than demons. Their biggest weakness, however, is not sunlight or garlic, but water. Not just holy water, but all water. Water takes away their ability to use their chakra or youki, rendering them completely powerless, and it numbs their body and mind too, making them slow down and want to sleep. So I'm afraid your son will never be able to use water jutsu or even the water-walking exercise. He's also especially vulnerable to anyone who uses those against him."

"Can that be changed?" Sasuke asked, his fangs visible as he spoke.

"It can, but I don't know how." Kushina answered. "All you need to know Sasuke, is that you should stick to the shade when you can, avoid water and garlic at all costs, and drink blood once a week."

Kushina then leaned in closer to him. "But when it comes to blood, there are two things I want you to promise me. Promise me that you will never drink from a person that didn't give you permission, and never drink enough to kill someone. This is important Sasuke. A lot of vampires became monsters by killing people like they were mere animals. Do you want your mother to see you become a monster?" Sasuke shook his head no quite enthusiastically. "Good. If you need fresh blood, ask a person first and if they agree, just take a little. And lick the wound so it heals quickly. Don't ever kill them, and most of all, never ever drink _all_ the blood in the body. Any vampire who drains their victim dry... dies too."

"Why?" Mikoto asked, curious.

"I don't know. I think it's nature's way of keeping vampires under control. Oh, before I forget, if you put wolfsbane in water it won't have the numbing effect on Sasuke. He still won't be able to use chakra, but at least this way he can take a bath and not risk drowning in the tub because he was put to sleep."

"Thanks." Mikoto said. After that, the two women started having a friendly chat to catch up while Naruto and Sasuke kept busy by chatting with each other. Naruto did most of the talking though. After a while though they had to stop, when another parent wanted answers to what their children had become.

Mikoto left with Sasuke, and soon Hiashi entered with his two daughters. He walked with a type of regality, dressed in white robes, carrying his younger daughter in his arms while the other walked close behind him instead of in front.

"Hello Lady Namikaze, what can you tell me about my daughters?" He asked, his voice, although it showed some concern, was rather cold.

Kushina raised a brow at him for a moment and then nodded as she looked over them both.

The older one looked like she was trying to become invisible, hiding behind her father's leg. Her eyes were soft pale lavender, no traces of the standard white of the Hyuuga eyes, and her hair was light blue with a purplish sheen to it. "Hi there little girl, come on out. I don't bite."

The girl didn't move, so Naruto stepped forward. "It's okay, my mom's a good person. You've got nothing to fear." With that, she slowly took a small step forward. "My name's Naruto, what's yours?"

"Hi-Hi-Hinata."

"Hi there Hihihinata." The young boy said obliviously, making the young girl blush and his mother laugh.

"Son, she meant her name is Hinata. She just struggled to say it for a moment." Kushina corrected.

"Oh, sorry Hinata."

"It's okay."

"Hinata, stop hiding and allow this woman to look at you." Hiashi commanded, then stepped aside as to give Kushina a better view.

Kushina checked over Hinata and looked at Hiashi. "Hiashi Hyuuga, your daughter is a Yuki-onna. A human/nature-demon with power over all things cold. In a cold environment, they are the strongest demons of all, with only yeti's being an actual challenge to them. They can freeze all water around them and even use the moisture in the air if they have to. Examples of such abilities include but are not limited to lowering the temperature in the surrounding area, creating small blizzards and icy whirlwinds, and creating weapons and tools out of ice. Strong ones can even freeze the water in someone else's body, turning them into a icicle, although they often prefer to encase one in ice rather than actually turn them into ice. She can use ice jutsus now without hand signs and can do water jutsus with the skill of an expert even at her young age. The problem is ice, water, and wind are the only elements she will ever be able to use. Earth, fire, and lightning jutsus are now an impossibility for her."

"Won't living here be a problem for her? This is Land of Fire after all." Hiashi asked.

"She won't melt if that's what you're worried about. Yuki-onnas are vulnerable to heat and likely to suffer heat sickness and worse if not kept cool. Also, they are not totally immune to the cold, as it is possible for even them to get too cold, but their tolerance for heat is much less than their tolerance for cold. There's a recipe for a medicine that allows them to tolerate heat more, but it's going to take a while to make it. Until then, it's best to keep her in an air-conditioned room."

Kushina then got up to go grab a pen and paper and started writing on it. "Is there anything else I should know?" Hiashi asked.

"Nothing that can't wait, at least that is until she's old enough to have children of her own." Kushina answered, then handed him the paper. "Here, follow these directions and you'll be able to make your daughter's medicine. She'll need to have this daily for her to be at her best so make it in bulk. Now, let me see your other daughter."

Hiashi's other daughter had been carried in his arms. Kushina could see her eyes were normal for a Hyuuga and there was nothing odd about her hair or face, but the rest of her body was significantly different. "What's her name?"

"Hanabi."

"Hanabi here is a harpy. A human/animal-demon that's half person, half bird. But you could probably guess that already, given that her arms are wings and her legs are like an eagles now." Hanabi's arms were covered with dark brown feathers except at her clawed hands and her legs and feet looked just like those on an eagle, with her knees bending backwards. If one looked carefully enough they could see tail feathers behind her too. "She can fly when she's old and coordinated enough. Most bird demons can't fly when young, like most normal birds, so you've got time to figure out how to keep her contained when she can. I gotta say though, having the byakugan with a birds-eye-view will give her a great advantage."

Hiashi perked up. "That does sound good. A Hyuuga that can actually fly will make her a fierce foe"

The conversation did not go any further beyond a few other simple questions, and then Hiashi bowed his head and then turned and walked away. Hinata took one last look at Nartuo, who waved goodbye as the girl walked off after her father who had not stopped to wait for her.

More people came in after Hiashi paid and left. It was a long day, but Kushina covered all of the kids who would grow up to be the Rookie 12.

"Sakura, you are a banshee. A spirit-demon with powers over pain and fear. Banshees are best known for their screams, their greatest weapon. A sad wail from a banshee can make someone sad enough to kill someone, even themselves, and an angry screech can hurt a person so painfully they'll feel like their heads will explode. Banshees are very difficult to hurt because they can turn from solid flesh and blood bodies into mist apparitions at will in less than a second. Every time someone wants to hurt you and you see it coming, your body will become like a ghost so the attack just goes right thru you. You can also turn invisible and pass thru walls when like this. The only thing that can hurt you like that is a weapon or tool made from forged iron, which hurts you in either form and can kill you if it hits a vulnerable spot. Only these weapons, or an attack you weren't aware of in time would be able to hurt you. Also, you are not immune to the sounds of another banshee, so it's generally not a good idea to associate with your own kind a lot."

"Kiba, you are a werewolf. A human/animal-demon and one of the toughest ones there are. Unlike most other children, you won't need to disguise yourself all the time, as you'll look like a normal human the majority of the time. As you get older you'll have more control over your transformations and instincts, but for now it'll be involuntary for you. You'll be no different than most Inuzuka when in your human form, but on full moon nights you'll change into a wolf man creature with the instincts of a wolf. When you're older, you'll be able to do this voluntarily and keep control of yourself, but full moon nights will always trigger an involuntary change in you. You'll grow to be quite strong and fast even for an Inuzuka, but vulnerable to forged silver and wolfsbane. Overall, I don't think there's a demon more appropriate for one in your clan to become, and I think this means your bond with your dog partner may be strengthened, but make sure your dog can tolerate wolves."

"Shino, you are a spider demon. An animal-demon of the insect variety, Yeah, I know spiders aren't technically insects but they're classified that way in demon terms. As you can already tell, you've got six arms that can double quite easily as legs when you need to walk on all... eights? You can create webbing, from the mouth rather than the rear like a normal spider, and your skin can harden within an instance to give you a natural exoskeleton-like armor. As an insect demon, you've got one of the best regenerative abilities of all demons, able to heal from virtually any wound that doesn't affect your heart. Blunt trauma attacks are probably the most painful to you now while you'll barely feel pain from anything else. From what I sense, you're not a venomous type so you're a trapper rather than a hunter. I'm not sure how it will affect your ability to perform clan methods so you'll have to find that out on your own. If it does work, it may prove good for you, and if it doesn't, you have your own methods to compensate. And don't be afraid of other kids thinking of you as a bug more now. At this point all kids are in the same situation so now's not the time to turn against each other."

"Shikamaru, you are a crow demon, commonly called a Tengu. Don't worry, you won't grow a long pointed nose or anything like that. As a crow demon, you simply have crow wings growing out of your back and have crow feet too. Not like the lines on an old person's face kind of crows feet, the literal thing. You'll understand that comment when you're older. You can fly, and since your arms and wings aren't the same limb you can carry things when you fly with your hands rather than your feet, so you'll have significant upper body strength. You can also talk to birds now and have a stronger talent for taijutsu. Did you know some myths say taijutsu was invented by tengus? No? Well that means you've got an ace up your sleeve when you train. And don't give me that lazt male Nara garbage, I expect to see you work your feathers off."

"Ino, you are a siren. That's a nature-demon that's often confused with harpies, but the two are very different. Harpies cannot swim and sirens cannot fly. Sirens are aquatic demons that need to be around water most of the time. They can turn into various sea animals, control water and aquatic plant life, and even breathe underwater. But a siren's best attribute is their song. A siren song practically hypnotizes whoever hears it and makes them do whatever the song is telling them to do. It can also control what they see if the siren desires that effect. Because of their aquatic nature, sirens are also confused with mermaids too, but again they're both different. Sirens are more comfortable on land than mermaids ever are and can look like more than just fish."

"Chouji, you are a troll. Think of it like an oni, only shorter and with smaller horns. Trolls are classified as nature-demons with connections to the earth, often found in dangerous areas people don't like to go to. Such places are generally in the mountains and forests, and often include underground areas. Trolls are much stronger than they look and very hard to hurt, but they're slow so it's easy for a frightened animal or person to outrun them. This is why trolls prefer to ambush or trap their targets. The powers of a troll are based mostly on their location. Mountain trolls tend to be expert earth jutsu users, and forest trolls are said to even be able to possess a variation of the mokuton. Given Konoha's location, I think it's safe to say you're a forest troll, but we won't know for certain until you're a little older."

"Neji, you are a dog demon. An animal-demon that actually gets along with humans and comes in a few varieties. I'd say you're the type that likes to take on human form too, rather than the other types like the hellhound which look like monstrous dogs most of the time. As a dog demon, you have much better senses than any human, scent and hearing being the primary ones. You most likely won't get along with monkey demons or cat demons, but you won't try to kill them on sight unless you've got a personal grudge against them or they're trying to hurt one of your 'pack' members. Your powers can vary from chakra claw attacks to elemental manipulation, so we won't know the full extent of your capabilities until you're older as they tend to differ between individuals. Dog demons also often have a natural talent for kenjutsu so you may want to look into that when you're old enough."

"Tenten, you are a cat demon. An animal-demon with notorious death-defying abilities, enough that they are the reason people say cats have nine lives. Cat demons can come in several varieties, and I'd said you're the type that is commonly called 'catgirl' by others, given how you have cat ears and a tail now. You can enhanced senses and much better reflexes than any human, making you a potentially great kunoichi who can make a good hit while being hard to hit back. Cat demon powers vary between each individual so we'll have to wait until you're older to know what you've acquired. The most common ones are chakra claw attacks and fire control. Cat demons usually don't get along too well with dog demons or wolf demons, but not to the mortal enemy point unless one actually tried to kill you. Cat demons are capable of laying curses on others if angered enough so promise me you won't take advantage of such a power."

"Lee, you are a doppelganger. Unlike other demons, this one isn't classified as any type because it can be virtually anything. A doppelganger can take on the appearance and powers of anyone they've ever touched. They cannot match the strength or speed though, so you'll have to train yourself quite well to have your own strength and speed to make up for that. Another fact is that doppelgangers are incapable of making any form of jutsu in their normal state, only when they mimic another and even then only the jutsus that person knew when you touched them. Any jutsu that person learned later on is uncopiable to you until you touch them again."

* * *

><p>It was hours later when they had finished giving out information on what each child had turned into and so on. Both Naruto and Kushina were just sitting together under the tree at the Academy where the swing was, both of them enjoying dinner. It was a good time for them to simply talk and enjoy the sunshine. For so long Kushina had longed to do just this with her son, she only wished she had her Minato with her as well.<p>

Naruto munched happily on a jam-filled riceball while Kushina sipped on some refreshing tea.

It was very hot today, and the cold tea and sweet jam riceballs relaxed the two of them. However their relaxation came to and end when suddenly both of the Uzumaki's ears twitched.

"Well it seems that the two of you have had a busy day."

Both of them turned to see Danzo standing there, leaning on his cane, with an Anbu agent standing behind him carrying a small sealed chest.

"Danzo." Kushina said with a polite smile. Her voice sounded a bit strained from hours of talking to others. "Would you care to join us? I brought plenty of tea."

The older man held up his hand, with his cane still in it. "No, forgive me if I decline, but I am not hungry. I have come to return your property." He gestured towards the masked Anbu who walked over in a silent, almost zombie-like fashion, and placed the chest down in front of Kushina.

"What is it Mom?" Naruto asked as he stared at the chest.

"Your future my son." She said as she broke the seal with her kunai and opened the chest. Inside were a number of scrolls that were sealed with the Namikaze crest. These were Minato's family jutsus, ones that had been passed down from one generation to the next, and ones that he himself had personally developed, the ones that made him one of the most feared ninja's in all of the world, the Yellow Flash.

"Thank you Danzo, for brining these back and for keeping them safe." Kushina said as she closed the box. "I am sure it would have meant a great deal to Minato."

"I was a great admirer of your husband. He always sought the protection and continuation of the village, the same as I do. I regret not knowing your husband better beyond the council table, however I would like to remedy that. I would like to be your friend and ally."

Kushina considered it, and she could sense no ill intent or lies coming for the man. His statements were true, at least in some aspect, and while she did not completely trust him just yet, she nodded her head. "I would appreciate that."

Danzo gave a small smile and bowed his head. "I am glad to hear that, however if you would excuse me, I have a prior engagement that I must see to." He bowed his head again and walked away with the Anbu agent following close behind.

The two of them walked far from the academy, and when Danzo was sure that even Kushina could not detect them he whispered to the agent. "Go to every orphanage and foster family, offer them anything for their silence, and then take the pick the litter amongst the transformed ones, the younger the better. Have it done by tonight and move them to the ROOT headquarters. But don't waste time with those that won't be bought off; just move on to the next then. We can't afford to waste time on the fickle. That woman practically killed off our entire force this morning with her strange jutsu. Time is not something we can be careless with."

The Anbu bowed his head. "Yes, Lord Danzo. The Foundation shall be rebuilt." He said as he vanished. This Anbu had been spared Kushina's anti-traitor jutsu, which had eliminated all of the official ROOT members, because he hadn't officially completed his training and sworn his highest loyalty to Danzo over Konoha like the others had.

The old crippled man stood there silently for a moment and then started walking again. He had plans to make, so many plans.

* * *

><p>It was nightfall, and at the Uchiha Compound, inside the Assembly Hall, a meeting was taking place. Special silencing jutsus had been set up, no sound could be heard coming out of the Hall.<p>

It was dark inside, dark for dark news, where the only light came from an hearth that set in the center of a large square table, the glowing embers showing the cold faces of the Uchiha. They were the elite members of the clan, main family members, jounin ranked ninjas and high ranking officers in the Police force. And sitting at the head of the table, in front of a banner that displayed the crest of the Uchiha was the Clan Head, Fugaku.

Sitting at his right was his brother Nobu, and to Fugaku's left was his still-human child, his eldest son, Itachi. Only the males had been invited to this meeting that Fugaku had called for, symbolizing that this was a secret meeting, and that no information was to go beyond these walls. Also, it subtly symbolized that the Uchiha didn't trust their women to keep their mouths shut.

"Brothers, fellow clansman of the Uchiha, our ancestors helped to establish this village and for decades we have kept this village safe. We have defended it from threats both external and internal. And for our years of service we took what we needed to continue our noble work. We took our new headquarters, honorably and within the legal rights. And from the Namikaze mansion we were able to rebuild order after the Kyuubi attack, because as Uchiha we take chaos and bring order."

Every Uchiha there agreed loudly, for they knew they could not be heard here, although Itachi remained silent.

"When Minato Namikaze died, we thought one of the greatest threats to our power and authority in this vanished, and we had only to worry of the Hyuuga, who dare to think that they are more capable of protecting this village then we are." Fugaku said as he slammed his fist down on the table.

Long before Konoha had been established, when the fire country had still been torn apart by war, the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan, although they had been distant cousins, had been bitter enemies. If there was any clan the Uchiha hated as much as the Senju, it was the Hyuuga. And that had not changed even when they both swore their loyalties to the same village.

"But yesterday, something changed. One of our greatest enemies has returned, Kushina Uzumaki, the former host of the hated Kyuubi, and the wife of Minato Namikaze." Fugaku said.

It was then one of the Uchiha members stood up. "It was she and her bastard son who caused all of this! She turned our children into monsters! My own daughter... she has become some sort of mermaid! Every time she touches water, she grows gills!"

Everyone started shouting their own stories on the creatures their children had become, and they all pointed their blame upon Kushina and Naruto.

"Furthermore, this demoness of hell that is Kushina has been back for barely twenty-four hours, and she has already try to usurp us. Forcing us to move out of our headquarters in a single day, so that she and her brat can move in." Nobu said, joining his brother.

"Yes, six years we had been there, never mind the cost of having to pay to transport all of the equipment we had placed there. But we had to take several police units off duty in order to see its safe transition here to the compound. Our village has become vulnerable because of this woman." A young officer said.

"And the Hokage did nothing to stop this, he gave in to this woman." Nobu added on, looking to his brother who nodded and stood.

"My fellow Uchiha, this is a clear sign on how lax the power of the Hokage has become. Brothers, I suggest that a new Hokage is needed; myself." Fugaku said.

There was a sudden silence in the room. They all knew what their leader was talking about, a coup d'état.

"I know what you are all thinking, however this matter has been coming for many years now. Our village needs a strong hand to guide it, and who is stronger than the Uchiha? It is we who should rule, not some old man who allies himself with demons and risen dead."

Another clans member stood up. "Fugaku, while we do not disagree that a change in leadership is warranted, on what you suggest, could we not wait a bit longer? Sarutobi is old, he cannot possibly have that many years left, and there is a good chance you will be selected to be the next Hokage anyway. Why force him out of office when Nature will do it for you in due time?"

"If we wait that long then Kushina will continue to spread her poison throughout the village, and knowing Sarutobi he might even consider placing her in the Hokage Tower instead of one of us." Nobu told the clansman who had just spoken.

"But there is so much support surrounding Sarutobi. All of us together could not defeat _every_ clan in the village. And you saw what Kushina did in the square today, how can we defeat that?" A rather young Uchiha male said.

"With our children of course." Fugaku said with a cold smile.

Itachi looked at his father then. 'Just what do you have in mind?'

"We shall keep our demonized children, and we shall continue to train them in isolation as we always have. We shall train them to become powerful weapons, our tools which we shall use to crush our enemies." Fugaku explained, with a mirth in his eyes and voice that a non-Uchiha could only describe as 'Monster!'


	4. Chapter 4

_To those of you anxious about the pairing of this fic, I cannot say for sure who it is because I have yet to decide. I'll be honest, NaruHina is the most likely one to happen, but to provide a sense of mystery to you and a challenge to myself, I'm not limiting myself to only that as a possibility. _

The Namikaze Estate was indeed a large one. It had two hundred acres of land, which was surrounded by a low redbrick wall with an ornate gate that gave easy access to the property. The estate had its own small training ground, and during the Uchiha occupation of the Mansion, they had expanded upon it, in order to train new recruits.

The Mansion itself was in the center of the grounds. It was a large building, with more then a hundred rooms. And at the very top of the Mansion was a flagpole, which had originally bore the seal of the Namikaze Clan, but when the Uchiha moved in, they took it down and placed their own colors there instead.

On the day the Uchiha had been moving out, Kushina had come to the Estate, walking right past every member of the police force, and the moment she saw the Uchiha flag over her husband's home, she leapt onto the roof and removed it. No, she destroyed it. She tore the flag in half, and smiled down at the shocked Uchiha below.

It was hard to say what offended the Uchiha's more. Their headquarters being usurped from them, their symbol being destroyed as if by an animal, or the one responsible for both acts smiling the entire time.

Kushina didn't care in either regard, now that the proper flag had been returned to its rightful place and was fluttering in the breeze.

Kushina stood in front of the reclaimed Estate, a smile on her face as she held Naruto's hand. "This will do nicely. I hate to admit it, but I'm kinda glad the Uchiha increased its size. More room for the kids who need a home." She said, noticing the additions that had been made to it.

"What are you talking about Mom?" Naruto asked, still not clear on what she meant by opening her home up.

Kushina knelt down to look at him, smiling. "Well son, I love you, demon or not, but there are most likely some mommies and daddies out there in the village that can't say the same for their own kids. So if those kids can't stay with their parents, where would they go?" Naruto shrugged. "Exactly. They wouldn't know either. Since this place is too big for just the two of us, I'm going to give all those kids I just told you about a home with us. Where they can feel accepted and appreciated."

"How many do you think will come?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a couple, maybe a lot."

"I'm not sure if I should be glad or upset. I mean, I'd be glad to have some kids to play with, but I'd be sad that they'd only be here because their parents didn't want them anymore."

Kushina smiled and stroked his head. "That's normal son."

Naruto then looked worried. "But if there are a lot of kids here, will you still have time for me?" He was worried that now that he had his mother back, he'd barely get to be with her if she had more responsibilities than him.

Kushina just smiled. "Always. But I can't give you attention 24/7, and you probably wouldn't like that either after a while. I still need to get a job so we can keep living here, and many other kids in this village will need my help from time to time. So unfortunately you're going to have to learn to share me, but you'll be my only son."

"Thanks Mom. So what will you do for a job?"

"I've got an idea. But I need to do a little 'digging' first." Kushina told him, a gleam in her eyes he didn't see, and it was possibly good that he didn't, because it was not a good gleam.

* * *

><p>At the Hyuuga compound, Hiashi sat in his private study, deep in thought.<p>

_(Flashback)_

_No one outside the Clan knew this secret, and the Main House was working franticly to make sure it did not circulate through the village._

_Both the Main and Branch House had been affected by the massive chakra wave that occurred only days ago. For those in the Main House, their children were simply transformed into demons. However, something more happened to the children of the Branch family._

_The Caged Bird Seal, which bound all member of the Branch Family in servitude to the Main House, had been wiped from the foreheads of every single transformed child. At first this did not seem to be an issue, the true issue was that no matter how many times they attempted to reapply it, they could not replace the seal. _

_And that terrified the Clan._

_"The Branch family could rise up against us." A rather old member of the Main House said._

_"Only the children have been affected, their parents still remain under our control." Another member answered, although he was just as worried about the situation._

_"Then it is clear what we must do, we must kill the children."_

_"Are you insane? Do you not remember what that Devil Woman said? If we even consider such a thing she will come down upon us like a plague."_

_"Not to mention that killing them all would only give the Branch family even more reason to rise against us." _

_"Then what is to be done with them? And even more so, what is to be done with our own children?"_

_Suddenly all eyes turned to Hiashi who sat at the head of the long table, all of them wanted to hear what the Clan Head had to say on this matter._

_Hiashi looked at all of his fellow Hyuuga, it somewhat pained him to see them talking about Branch members like they were all dogs that needed to be kept on a leash or put down for breaking free of that leash. Thoughts of his dead twin brother __Hizashi_ _entered his mind as he spoke._

_"Whatever has befallen the children of our clan, we must not forget that they are still Hyuuga." He said calmly. "Perhaps what has happened is a sign from above that we must change our policy regarding the Branch members."_

_"Have you gone mad Hiashi? They are our servants! They have been since our clan was founded! It's the only reason we allow them to even be born!"_

_"And by treating them as nothing more then mere servants we have created in them a deep hatred of the Main House. Everyone here is so worried they will take any chance they can get to usurp us, when in fact we have done little to give them no reason not to other than a seal that's more of a torture symbol than a security measure. I believe it is time we stop fanning that flame of hatred and instead to repair the split with this family." Hiashi said._

_"What… what are you suggesting Hiashi?"_

_"I propose that we end the segregation between Main and Branch houses. End the use of the Caged Bird Seal all together; integrate training classes with the children from both branches."_

_"You are asking that we just throw aside all of our traditions and values, our practices that have kept our clans secrets safe for generations."_

_"That has not stopped many from trying and succeeding." Hiashi countered, all present at the table, knew there had been some instances, when Main House members had been killed in battle, and on several occasions, their eyes, containing the Byakugan had been removed._

_There was a sudden silence in the room, no one spoke for a few minutes, but then a Hyuuga elder stood. "You ask a great deal Hiashi, a very great deal. If the Council of Elders were to grant your request, what would you give us in return?" He asked as a small smile on his face._

_Hiashi raised a brow. "What would you ask for?"_

_"Your daughters." The Elder said. "They are to be… cast out of the clan."_

_Hiashi jolted back and almost lost his balance. "What? You can't be serious."_

_"You're asking us all to make a big sacrifice. It's only fair we ask you to make one just as big."_

_"It's big but not reasonable." Hiashi countered._

_"Telling us to discard tradition is not reasonable either." Another Hyuuga added._

_A kinder Hyuuga spoke up. "Maybe you could consider this an act of faith Lord Hiashi. If you truly wish to merge the two houses, by casting out your daughters, you throw out any suspicions the Branch family may have that only the original Main house will keep all the power regardless of the joining."_

_The one who brought up the issue smiled triumphantly. "Then it's settled. Hiashi, for the sake of the clan, you will either cast out your daughters or agree to kill the Branch house children."_

_(End of Flash Back)_

Hiashi was left with a difficult decision; if the Elders did agree to his request then this could usher in a whole new era for the Hyuuga Clan, perhaps its greatest ever. But at what cost? Hinata and Hanabi, his daughters, his heirs and all that remained to remind him of his wife.

The Clan Head weighed his options, part of him hating himself for even considering the idea.

* * *

><p>A few evenings later, the council had gathered in their meeting room for a routine discussion of village events. This was the first one Kushina was attending, as representative of the demon community.<p>

"How are things in my former property Kushina-san?" Fugaku asked when they had a free moment. It was clear to everyone that the Uchiha head was incredibly resentful of the forced change.

Kushina could sense it as clear as the nose on his face, but to add insult to injury she just smiled victoriously. "Actually it was my son's property; you and your police force were just squatting there. But to answer your question, it's going quite well. With all that Uchiha crap out of the way it's finally looking like my old home again."

"Crap?" Fugaku said, offended beyond reason. "That was all part of the Uchiha legacy passed down for generations to help us do our job and reflect our status."

Kushina shrugged. "One person's treasure is another person's trash, which is where it will end up if I find any left in my house."

Fugaku grumbled to himself, and Shikaku chose that moment to speak up in an effort to avoid any brewing incident. "How are things with your son? Or the demon orphanage?"

Kushina smiled, this time kindly rather than condescendingly. "My son is wonderful. I'm so glad I have a chance to be his mother for him. I'm so glad I didn't miss out on it. I do miss Minato greatly, but as long as I have Naruto a piece of Minato will always be with me. As for the orphanage, so far I've already had a few children come under my care. It's a little less than I expected by this point now."

"You expected many kids to come to you?" Homura asked.

Kushina nodded. "Considering how this village has treated my son, why wouldn't I expect a good number of people to treat other children the same way? Because it's _their_ children, therefore someone they can tolerate and love? Even you have to admit it's hard to believe no one would get rid of their children for one reason or the other. Orphans wouldn't even exist if it wasn't a possibility."

"I suppose you're right. I guess I just had more faith than you on how many people would continue to love their children despite the change." The old man replied.

"Was that the same faith that said those same people would respect Minato's dying wish?" Kushina added, silencing Homura effectively.

Sarutobi coughed. "Well, if there is no more business, I think we can end this meeting and go home."

"Actually, Lord Hokage, I have one more thing while we're all here." Kushina spoke up.

"Regarding?"

"I think I figured out who caused the problems regarding my son."

THAT certainly caught everyone's interest. "Go on." Sarutobi said.

Kushina stood up and folded her arms behind her back. "From what I gathered, here's the dilemma regarding my son. After Minato and I died and the kyuubi was sealed in him, he was brought to safety by someone here. From there the entire council was informed of my son's situation, most likely to remove any fears that the Kyuubi would return and continue attacking the village. This council had been informed of my husband's and mine dying wish for Naruto to be seen as a hero for keeping the fox away from doing any further harm."

The council members nodded and the redhead continued. "At the same time, our third Hokage was reinstated under the default law of Hokage selection right? The one that says if the current Hokage dies and there was no successor already declared, the previous Hokage automatically reclaims the title unless physically or mentally incapable of doing so or such Hokage was forced out of office, right?" More nods. "Now, around this time the information regarding my son's jinchuuriki status was somehow leaked to the general public, and probably spun in a propagandist way to cause more hysteria among the villagers, who were already afraid of impending doom. So a law to protect my son was created in an effort to protect him and give him a normal life, but information regarding my son's lineage was withheld. And for six years no one has been able to find out who leaked out this very important secret. Is that all correct?"

"What is your point?" Fugaku asked.

"I'm just getting the facts straight before I make any accusations." Kushina told him without looking at him. "And before I do that, I'd like to know what this council had in mind regarding my son's upbringing and future."

Koharu stood up to answer that one. "As we explained the other day, we were unable to find your son a permanent caregiver, but we were able to provide caregivers everyday and a residence where he could be safe and warm." She would have said more, but she was cut off by Kushina.

"I didn't ask what you _did_ do. I asked what you had intended before this all happened."

"To be honest, it all happened so quickly I honestly cannot remember what we discussed before it became clear that Naruto's secret had been revealed."

Kushina nodded. "Okay, that tells me this information was leaked quite quickly. Probably even with the very hour you all learned it. And it spread quite significantly before you finished or had time to stop it. With that, I can only conclude that either there was someone listening in on your discussion that day, or someone here gave this information thru unclear means and had the receiver spread it for them."

"We have already considered that and interrogated everyone here to see if they could have done that. So far nothing has been found." Danzou stated.

"In that case, there are only two possibilities on who could have done this." Kushina said, and then turned to Inoichi. "Mr. Yamanaka, were any of your clansmen the ones who did the interrogating?"

"Of course. It was the only way to ensure that we found the truth, by going into their minds and checking their memories. Why?"

"Who interrogated you then?"

Inoichi looked shocked. "You think I did it?"

"_Who_ interrogated _you_?" Kushina sternly repeated.

Inoichi frowned but answered. "It was another Yamanaka accompanied by Ibiki and the rest of the T&I division. They did all the work. I was not allowed to do it under the grounds I myself was a suspect. But I swear on my daughter's life I did not leak this information out."

Kushina's smile unnerved him. "Are you willing to prove that?"

"What do you mean?"

Kushina waved her hand as if to beckon someone to come towards her. From out of nowhere Ino appeared next to Kushina, looking completely human except for her aqua blue hair. As a siren, she was one of the few demon children that did not require a human disguise to hide in public.

"Ino? When did you get here?" Inoichi asked.

"Oh I asked the child or grandchild of every person here for this exact purpose." Kushina told him before touching Ino's scalp with a glowing red hand then firing a red chakra ray at Ino's face. "There. Now your daughter's life is dependent on you being honest. If you lie, she suffers for it."

Ino looked a bit afraid but the adults looked horrified, Inoichi especially. "YOU CANNOT DO THIS!"

Kushina just glared. "Little action was done to stop those willing to kill my son, so now you'll know what it feels like to see your child in danger if you act negligently. Besides, you were just a moment ago willing to swear on your daughter's life you were being honest, so why are you afraid now that you have the literal risk? If you are telling the truth, no harm will come. And rest assured I will remove the jutsu right away if you answer honesty Inoichi."

Inoichi kept glaring but he held himself in check. "I swear to you Kushina that I was not responsible for the information regarding your son being given to the public and I never once encouraged anything bad to happen to him." He looked to see what if anything would happen to Ino, and to his relief nothing did.

"Thank you Mr. Yamanaka." Kushina said before touching Ino with a green glowing hand. "Your daughter is safe now. I'm sorry I had to do that, but anyone can say anything if they know they don't have to prove it without serious repercussions."

Ino came over to her father and he embraced her quite protectively. At the same time all the other children went to their family memebers too.

Kushina looked over the rest of the council. "Like I said before, I brought with me the children or grandchildren of each and every one of you. I could do this to all of you to find out the real culprit." She saw they were all afraid, but more of the implication than of being caught she guessed. "However, I will not, since I believe that will be unnecessary and maybe little more effective than anything you've already tried the past six years."

"This is exactly why people hate demons and why they shouldn't be here." Fugaku commented, not caring who heard him but hoping someone would agree. It appeared everyone ignored him.

Kushina moved her arms so they were folded in front of her. "So as I was saying, the guilty party here was someone who had immediate access to the information on my son, could get that information sent to others before the meeting concluded, and escaped being found by the T&I ninja. With that in mind, I asked myself one question." She paused for dramatic effect and to get everyone even more curious.

"Was there ANYONE here that was NOT interrogated?"

Everyone looked confused. "Why do you ask that? Of course everyone was interrogated." Koharu answered.

Kushina looked towards Inoichi for confirmation. "It's true. Our forces showed that every shinobi member and civilian member and even the Anbu and T&I department itself were carefully gone over to ensure no one spoke of what happened to your son."

Kushina looked undaunted and crossed her arms. "Every shinobi member here?" Inoichi nodded. "Every civilian member here or present on that day?" Another nod. "Every Anbu in the village that day?" Another nod. "Every member of the T&I department?" Another nod.

"What's your point Kushina?" Danzo asked.

"Like I said before, I have an idea. It's possible that Madara Uchiha did it, since he was the one that unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha in the first place."

"Madara Uchiha?" All the ninja members and elders asked in shock and disbelief.

Kushina nodded. "Yes, as hard as it is to believe Madara himself came to me as I was giving birth and stole my son from me, angering me enough to unwillingly release the Kyuubi from my body. He took it over and had it attack Konoha. Minato got Naruto back but Madara escaped. We had no choice but to reseal Kyuubi into Naruto since I was too injured to contain it again."

"How could he still be alive?" Homura asked.

"I don't know. But he could have easily sneaked around Konoha and caused everyone to fear Naruto rather than care for him, and then left. I can't be completely certain, since I can't be sure why he didn't just take Naruto when he was completely vulnerable then."

"Maybe he's waiting for Naruto to get stronger so he could use him for something." Shikaku offered.

"You certain it was Madara Uchiha?" Fugaku asked.

"It was either him, or someone here did escape interrogation." Kushina replied. "It's also possible he stole the missing money from my husband's accounts for himself, but I'm not as sure on that one. When it comes to the missing money, I still suspect someone here did that."

"This is a lot to think about." Sarutobi stated. "Kushina, thank you for your warning. This will help us greatly in the future."

"You can't be taking her seriously Lord Hokage?" Fugaku asked. "I mean, Madara Uchiha can't possibly be alive!"

"If I was lying, wouldn't I make a better lie than that?" Kushina asked.

"Let's not worry about it for now and give the matter some rest. It's not like we can do anything on the matter right now anyway." Sarutobi told everyone. "For now, let's all just go home and get some rest. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

><p>Kushina walked down the brick path that lead up to her home. She remembered when she had first walked down this path with Minato, they had been so young then. When she had first met Minato at the Academy, she thought he was such a wimp. But he had been the one to save her from the Kumo ninja who had kidnapped her so many years ago.<p>

She found it unfair, unfair that she had been able to return and her beloved husband had not.

Of course, life had never been fair, if it had then it would never allowed 'him' to exist. That masked bastard. The man who had kidnapped her Naruto before he was even an hour old, the one who forcibly extracted the Kyuubi from her body and allowed it to run rampant causing so much destruction, and causing Naruto's misery and loneliness for all these years.

If she ever got her hands on that man, she would show him the legendary fury of the Uzumaki clan combined with the raw unrestrained power of the new Kyuubi.

She came within sight of the Mansions front doors, and she saw Naruto was sitting there waiting for her, but he was not alone.

There were two others with him, the two Hyuuga girls. Hinata sat close to Naruto, holding her whimpering sister in her arms.

When Naruto saw his mom he ran up to her very quickly. "Mom, you gotta do something." He said as he took her hand and pulled her over to the steps.

Hinata took her eyes off her sister and looked up at the red-haired women who stood above her. Kushina saw how frightened Hinata looked, and she could also see small beads of sweat running down her face. And then she saw her sister, Hanabi. The poor baby, she was still unused to her new harpy body and seemed pained. Apparently sometime since she informed Hiashi the concealing spell on her wore off, returning Hanabi to her harpy form. The same thing had been true when she saw Neji before she took him to the council room to make Hiashi tell the truth if she needed him to.

Kushina bent down and smiled warmly at Hinata. "Hello sweetheart, can I see your sister for a second?" She asked politely.

Hinata seemed a bit reluctant to give up Hanabi, but she could not see any cruelty in Kushina's eyes and slowly handed the still whimpering child to her. Kushina held the infant Hyuuga in her arms. Cradling the child with one hand while she slowly ran the fingers of her other hand down Hanabi's forehead.

It was then that the distinguishing harpy features began to vanish, melting away into the skin. Hanabi's legs began to contort and change, and after a few moments she looked like a completely normal child.

The whimpering had stopped, and the girl was now smiling happily up at Kushina who smiled back. "There now, all better."

Both Naruto and Hinata looked amazed. "Y… y… you fixed her." Hinata said shyly as she looked at her sister.

"Oh no, she is still a demon. I have simply performed a demon henge jutsu, it makes her look human, but once you scratch off the surface you'd see she's still a demon. I think she was just fussy because she's not used to her harpy body. It must be hard to suddenly adjust to having legs that bend backwards and arms that move like wings." Kushina trailed off as if suddenly realizing something. "What are you doing here? Naruto did you invite them here?"

The smaller kitsune shook his head. "No Mom, I was out here playing, and a couple of men showed up and brought them here." He said as he pointed to the small pile of bags that lay on the ground next to the steps.

Kushina looked at Hinata. "Is this true?" She asked.

The yuki-onna nodded slowly. "Y… yes, my father… said that… we had to live here now… and that we… could not come home." She said slowly, and tears began to form in her eyes.

Kushina was about to say something comforting to the girl but instead it was Naruto who did it. "Don't cry. If your father's such a jerk he can't love you anymore, you can stay with us and we will make you happy. Right Mom?" He turned to Kushina at the end and Hinata followed his lead.

"Of course. That's why I opened the house up to all demon kids. But I will have to have a talk with your father later on."

Hinata smiled and bowed. "Thank you." Kushina saw she was a bit wobbly and looked lightheaded.

"Let's get you inside now. You look like you're about to collapse." She said as she led the kids inside.

Hinata stepped inside but the heat had gotten to her and she practically passed out. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground. "Mom, what's wrong? Is she sick?" He asked, very worried for her.

"She'll be fine, she's just overheated. She needs to be somewhere cold to get better, and some special medicine to handle the heat, which she obviously doesn't have on her." Kushina explained. She walked up a set of stairs and headed for one of the empty rooms. 'I'm so glad I had the foresight to make sure some rooms included an air conditioner.'

One of the kids already dropped off to live in the new orphanage was in the hall and saw the older woman and her son coming. "Hi Mrs. Namikaze, Naruto. Who's this with you?"

"Two new tenants Sakura. One of them isn't doing too well and needs to cool down."

The pink-haired girl gasped. "Can I help?"

Kushina shook her head. "No need. All she needs is to get some rest and cool down." She then opened the door to a room with air conditioning and Naruto set Hinata down on a futon before his mom turned the AC on. "Let's give her some time to cool down. I'll go make her some of her medicine. Naruto, come with me and keep an eye on the baby while I work. Sakura, keep an eye on her in case something looks wrong or if she wakes up. If you need me, come get me." Both kids nodded and did as told.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Hinata woke up. "Wha... where am I?"<p>

"You're here where the rest of us unwanted kids are." A girl's voice told her. Hinata turned to her left and saw a young girl with short pink hair trying to keep warm. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, actually I am." Hinata said as she sat up. "Where's my sister?"

"Mrs. Namikaze took her downstairs. I'm Sakura Ha... just Sakura I guess."

"Hinata Hyu... just Hinata I guess too."

"So what did you get turned into that made your parents not want you anymore?" Sakura bluntly yet curiously asked.

Hinata shedded one tear which froze on her cheek. "A yuki-onna."

"Oh, that explains the need for this room to be so chilly. I'm a banshee now. My parents told me I'm just a monster now and don't want me under their roof anymore, so I came here. What happened to you?"

"I... don't really know. E-everything was g-going okay for the past few days, then my clan got angry over something and my father t-told me that my sister and I had to l-l-leave and never come back before someone ki-killed us. He... said he was sorry and would visit me when he could, but he c-couldn't let anyone know about it though."

Sakura looked away sadly. "Just be glad he did say that. I don't think my parents want to ever see me again."

"Why's that?" Hinata asked.

Sakura started to cry. "When I... didn't want to leave, my mom... screamed at me and threw a knife at me."

Hinata's eyes widened. "R-r-really?"

Sakura nodded. "But it didn't work. The knife just went right thru me because Mrs. Namikaze says most weapons can't hurt banshees. I still screamed in fear though and both Mom and Dad were so hurt from my scream their ears were bleeding. Dad passed out and I'm not sure if he's okay yet, and Mom looked at me like I was a monster. So I just grabbed some of my stuff and came here before they could do more."

Hinata came over and hugged Sakura to make her feel better. Sakura returned the hug and both girls started crying. After a few moments, they heard a knock at the door. It opened to reveal Naruto. "Hi girls. I've got your medicine Hinata." He held out a lollipop for her. "Mom says these will help you stand the heat better so you can be outside more. But each only lasts a day."

"Th-thank y-you N-Naruto." Hinata took it and placed it in her mouth. "Mmm... tastes good."

"Oh, Mom says you can have this room as yours, but your sister will need a different room since she won't like being cold all the time." Naruto added.

"Who does?" Sakura commented, shivering.

"What are you talking about? It's not cold in here at all." Hinata said.

"Sure, to you isn't. But I'm freezing."

* * *

><p>Back in his house, Fugaku had a lot on his mind.<p>

'So that bitch not only dares to steal my rightful headquarters, but dares to slander my clan's reputation with some preposterous story of our biggest mistake still up to no good. If word of Madara Uchiha still being alive ever got out and taken seriously, people would start to suspect more problems would arise from the Uchiha clan, lowering our status further.'

Sasuke tried to approach his father. "Hi Dad, wanna see how good I've gotten using the Fireball jUtsu?"

Fugaku just frowned. "Go away Sasuke, I'm in no mood." He then walked away, leaving his hurt son behind. 'Damn that woman. If she keeps snooping around she may find out those missing funds were because of me. The only reason I was never exposed was because I blackmailed the interrogator with having someone they cared about arrested and executed in a day if they didn't keep their mouth shut. But if she finds out, I'll need the entire clan to save my life and reputation from her horrible deeds.'

He sighed. 'I better ensure we eliminate her and her bastard child before they pose further threat. The training of our monster children will have to be intensified to get ready as fast as humanly possible. Oh wait, they're not human anymore so make that as fast as _in_humanly possible.' He chuckled at his personal joke.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke collapsed on his hands and knees panted hard, exhausted from his training. But he wasn't complaining. He got to spend time with his father and hear compliments from him too. That made it all worthwhile.

Right now Fugaku was gone, allowing Sasuke to relax. A shadow approached from behind, making him turn around. "Hi Sasuke. You don't look so well."

"Hi Itachi. I'm just... a little worn out."

The older Uchiha shook his head. "You look like you're starting to sunburn. You know that's dangerous for you. And why were you practicing near the lake? You know that's even more dangerous for you."

"Father says I need to overcome my weaknesses by not being afraid to be exposed to the things that can hurt me."

"And he's the expert on vampires?" Itachi asked.

"Not compared to Miss Kushina, but he's got to know what he's talking about. He's the head of the clan after all." Sasuke replied.

"But is he a vampire expert?" Itachi repeated.

Sasuke groaned as his muscles ached when he stood up. "No. Why?"

"Come, let's get you inside before you burn up." Itachi said as he picked his little brother onto his back and carried him inside the house. "Why didn't Father bring you inside if you were like this?" He asked.

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out once he realized he didn't actually have an idea why. Up until that moment, he didn't even think about it, but he was certain his father had a good reason.

Itachi took Sasuke to his room and placed him down gently in his satin-lined coffin, made specifically to let him be comfortable yet not suffocate him. Sasuke felt relieved to be out of the sun and on something soft. Itachi gave him a small bag of donor blood they got from the hospital, and Sasuke drank from it like it was water. "Thanks Onii-chan."

"No problem Sasuke. But I really want to know why you put yourself in such a bad situation just because Father told you to." Itachi inquired.

"Because he said I'd get stronger this way." Sasuke replied, taking a brief break from his drink.

"I know you want to be stronger and make Father proud Sasuke, but you must not forget your limitations."

"But if I can get over my limitations, then I can be stronger." Sasuke countered.

Itachi just kept looking at him plainly and then flicked him on the head.

"Owww." Sasuke said as he rubbed the flicked spot on his forehead. "Why did you do that?"

"To remind you, never become arrogant or foolish in a quest to become stronger." Itachi said with a small smile as he patted his younger brother on the head. "Power doesn't come from ignoring your weaknesses Sasuke, it comes from compensating for them."

It was then that Mikoto came into the room. She smiled fondly at her two sons before she spoke. "Itachi, your father wants to speak to you."

Sasuke noticed for a brief moment, a moment of irritation or maybe even repressed rage in his brother's face, but it soon vanished as Itachi stood up and faced his mother with a smile. "Of course." He then left the room, moving in complete silence.

The younger Uchiha sat up in his coffin and looked at his parent. "Mom, is everything ok between Dad and Onii-chan?"

For the past several weeks, a rift had formed between Fugaku and Itachi, and not so long ago Fugaku had considered Itachi 'The very Future of the Uchiha'. But for reasons Sasuke couldn't begin to imagine, Itachi didn't like that acknowledgement.

Mikoto looked at her son, and shook her head. "No Sasuke, your father and brother, they just have... different viewpoints."

"Like what?"

Mikoto wasn't sure how to explain that. Her youngest son looked up to both his father and older brother quite a bit and she didn't want to ruin his hero-worship of them both. "Your father just thinks Itachi should do things a bit more to his liking, and your brother wants to remain his own person. I'm sure they'll find a compromise soon enough."

* * *

><p>Fugaku sat in his private study, tapping his fingers on his desk while Itachi stood in front of him, a blank emotionless look on his face.<p>

Fugaku stopped tapping his fingers and finally spoke. "They fished Shisui's body out of the Naka River, and they found a suicide note taped to his body." The clan head said.

Shisui Uchiha was noted to be one of the most talented members of the Uchiha clan. He had great mastery of the Body Flicker technique among others, and he was hailed as one of the most powerful genjutsu users of the Uchiha clan, Thanks to the fact he possessed a modified version of the Mangekyō Sharingan, which had a very unique and powerful ability that could only be used once a decade. It made him one of the most feared and powerful members of the Uchiha clan.

He had also been Itachi's best friend. The two of them had been very close growing up, and Itachi had always looked up to Shisui as an older brother.

Itachi stood there silently for a moment, staring at his father. When he finally spoke he said one simple word. "And?"

Fugaku nearly exploded with rage. He stood up from his chair and slammed his fists down on his desk, looking like he was ready to activate his Sharingan. "AND? IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY" He shouted and Itachi remained perfectly still, unafraid of his father.

Fugaku glared at his son for a bit longer and then dropped back into his seat. "His eye was stolen, along with his right arm. So someone now has possession of the Mangekyō, and we have lost a valuable asset to our clan."

Itachi raised a brow. "This implies that he was murdered and did not commit suicide. Mere suicide should not leave such uncharacteristic wounds."

Fugaku glared at his son. "Indeed, and there is already a suspect. You Itachi."

Itachi did not even look shocked when he heard this. "Is there a reason for such suspicion?"

"Yes. You have been acting strange lately so I and several other members of the clan had Shisui assigned to watch you."

"What have I done to warrant this?" Itachi asked.

"Because you have not been acting like yourself Itachi." Fugaku answered. He wanted to say more, but his son cut him off.

"Not acting like myself, or not acting like _you_ Father?"

Fugaku silently fumed and struggled to resist exploding at the defiant boy. To keep himself from doing so, he continued what he had intended to say before. "You're passing up missions that would allow you to establish yourself as an ANBU. You've stopped attending clan meetings. And worst of all, you are growing far too attached to… it."

That statement struck a nerve in Itachi better than anything else said here had. He clenched his fists and his face became cold towards his father. He knew without a doubt that 'it' meant a person, and even though he didn't know who exactly that was, the fact that Fugaku considered them a thing more than a person is what enraged Itachi.

"Your brother and all the turned children of the clan are meant to be our tools, necessary in solidifying our eventual control over this village. Frankly son I am starting to question where your loyalties lie." Fugaku said and with that he returned to his work, and motioned for Itachi to leave.

The Prodigal Son stood there rigidly, and then he turned around and left the study, a dark look on his face as walked away. 'What is your angle here Father? You called Shisui an asset to the clan, not a member. You mention I'm accused of murder yet do not ask me if I'm guilty or show hope that I am innocent. And you regard my concern for my brother as misplaced. Are you hiding something, or are you simply pompous and expect me to be your clone, which I am not?'

"I EXPECT you to remember that you are an Uchiha, and that you have a duty to your clan and family. The time for our clans return to power is fast approaching Itachi, and when it comes I need to know you stand with us." Fugaku said

Itachi stared at his father for a moment, a eerie silence in the room and then without a single word or even permission to leave, he turned and left the room.

* * *

><p>It was night and a full moon, its light shone brightly on Konoha while the citizens slept peacefully, save the Youkai children who were now nocturnal.<p>

And on top of the Hokage Monument, Itachi stared down at the village below.

"Amazing isn't it, when I first stood on top of this mountain, none of this was here." Said a voice from out of nowhere.

Itachi spun around, his Sharingan activated and saw sitting on the ledge of the mountain, right on top of the First Hokage was a man, dressed in black and wearing an orange mask, and with a long mess of black hair. Itachi was completely shocked, his senses were very acute and yet he had not heard or even sensed this man coming.

The masked man continued to stare down at the village. "Ninja villages, they are like cockroaches, no matter how many times you try to crush them, they always somehow survive and thrive."

The young Uchiha reached for his weapons pouch but before he did the masked man spoke again. "Try to draw any kunai and I will send you over the edge. Of course I could always make it look like you killed yourself."

Itachi's eyes widened, this man knew the truth. "Who are you?"

The clocked figure rose from his sitting position. "Ahh yes, I suppose that a more formal introduction is required, I am Madara Uchiha, Master of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Co-founder of Konohagakure, and once Leader of the Uchiha clan." He said as he took a small bow.

"And?"

The masked man jolted back slightly in surprise. "And? And what?"

"What's the point of telling me this? You had one moment when you could have killed me and no one, not even I, could have known until it was too late. The fact that you're talking to me instead and you're letting me talk back to you like this means there's something you want to say to me."

Madara smiled under his mask. "Smart boy, I like that." Itachi's frown easily told him to just get to the point. "Okay, I came to you because I have some knowledge I think you might be interested in having and sharing."

Itachi still didn't trust this guy any further than he could throw him, but didn't object. "I'm listening."

"You have noticed things about the Uchiha, things that make you uncomfortable. Things that don't make sense and border on the terrible. Things... the clan should be without, am I right?" Madara inquired.

'I don't like the way he's saying this, but I can't fault his accuracy in his statement.' Itachi told himself. "And so what if I have?"

"Do you not wish to change things? You are the strongest one in your generation, and yet you choose to do nothing. Those that have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action. And yet you choose not to. That will prove to be a bad choice."

Itachi resisted a scoff. "And am I to believe you know what the best choice is then?"

"I have no love for my fellow Uchiha anymore. I brought them to an era of power and prosperity, and they cast me aside without a single thought. Needless to say I am still pissed off."

Itachi said nothing in regards to that so Madara just kept talking.

"And when I learned that the Uchiha were stirring up some trouble, I figured I would stick around to see what it was. I was literally shocked when I learned they were talking about a Coup. Took them a hundred years to accept my idea, but I can't really let them take over this village… that's _my_ job." Madara said, sounding rather ridiculous and hard to believe.

"I am losing interest in this conversation." Itachi said.

"Alright, my point is this. If one had it in their power to remove a threat without any backlash consequences, would it not be logical to do so?" Madara stated with a shrug.

"Are you suggestion that I remove those who are responsible for creating this problem?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, far be it for me to know what must be done." Madara answered, showing false modesty. "But since you're not entirely convinced that this action must be taken, let me ask you this, what do you think your clan will do if they succeed with their little plan?"

Itachi did not answer, and his eyes lowered to the ground.

"Maybe you do understand, but simply hate the hate you must be in a position to make the decision. Oh and by the way, what did you do with Shisui's other eye?"

Itachi looked up at the masked man and when he spoke it was short and crisp. "I destroyed it."

It was then that Madara simply vanished. Not by a shushin or even a substitution. It was more like he simply was never there in the first place. "If you need me again, go to the Valley of the End on the day after tomorrow. Come alone, or you will receive nothing, Itachi." His voice rang in the gifted Uchiha's ears a moment later.

Even though Madara vanished, Itachi refused to relax, he was withdrew a kunai and kept his Sharingan activated. He did not know if this person was really Madara Uchiha, which Itachi doubted. If Madara was still alive, he would be well over a hundred years old. However, this person might indeed be an Uchiha, judging from the abilities he exhibited and the knowledge he possessed.

Knowledge that Itachi had to agree with. If his father did manage to gain control over this village, then it would become little more then a police state, and all of its people living in fear of the Uchiha.

Something that he just would not allow.

It was then that Itachi made a decision, one that would affect him and his clan for a long, long time.

* * *

><p>"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he rose up from his chair.<p>

Itachi knelt before the Hokage and Danzo as he spoke. "My father, and most if not all of the adult males of the Uchiha clan are planning to lead a Coup against you Lord Hokage. They intend to overthrow the council and make my father the new leader of the village with only other Uchiha having any position of authority in this village."

"Can you prove this?" Danzo curiously and professionally asked.

Itachi opened his jacket, revealing an internal pocket which held a folder, he pulled it out and placed it on the Hokage's desk. Danzo made a move for it, but Sarutobi slapped his hand away. "_I_ am Hokage, Danzo. How many times do I have to remind you of that?"

"I never forget that." Danzo said, hiding his bitterness. 'I just don't like it.'

The old man looked thru the folder's contents and saw several records from clan meetings showing that the Uchiha were indeed preparing for a complete and total takeover of Konoha. "And what do you want in return for telling us this information?" Sarutobi asked.

Itachi was silent for a moment, but he soon rose up from the floor and stared at both the Hokage and Danzo as he told them. "I wish that the children and women, who are innocent and have no part this treason be spared. And in return I will personally deal with my father and all who support him."

"You would kill your own father and most of your clan?" Danzo asked.

"To preserve peace, I would. I'll be honest, I do not like this, but I do not agree with my father's ideas about what's good for the village. Or should I say, what's best for_ him_. I fight and shed my blood to keep my family safe and honorable, not to fulfill the whims of an egomaniac."

"How exactly is arranging for them to die keeping them safe and honorable?" Sarutobi asked.

"If they fight the entire village, they all will suffer and despite their confidence, they are not Yondaime's equal and cannot take on half an army by themselves. And after the conflict, no one would look at an Uchiha with anything but disgust ever again. If we eliminate the problem before it becomes too large to handle, and keep it out of the public's eyes, the innocent can stay safe and they will maintain at least some honor." Itachi explained.

Sarutobi thought it over. "I can only hope you're right Itachi. In that case, begin the process tonight and finish it tonight as quickly as possible. The ANBU will be stationed around the area to keep anyone else from finding out, and will also go after the rest of the clansmen listed here as the conspirators. We will leave Fugaku to you. Oh, and would you mind if Kushina got involved to keep the children safe or under control if they somehow get involved."

Itachi nodded. "That is acceptable Lord Hokage."

"Good. Now get ready. End this before sunrise."

Itachi nodded and then left.

"This will cause quite a mess if it gets out, you know that." Danzo commented.

"I know. But we already have plans set in place, case a situation like this did ever occur, although I had hoped never to use them." The Hokage said as he took a long draw from his pipe and exhaled through his nostrils.

* * *

><p>That evening Fugaku had his last meal without knowing it. It had been fresh baked fish and jasmine tea for himself and his wife, while Sasuke had only drunken his fill on blood, and once again Itachi had neglected to attended dinner, as he had done for the past few weeks now, staying out late and coming back early in the morning.<p>

He did not know what was going on with that boy, but he knew that Itachi would have to change his attitude soon, otherwise there were going to be consequences.

Fugaku walked outside onto the porch and smiled, he enjoyed the night air and gazing at the moon. "Such a peaceful night."

However that peace was quickly destroyed.

An explosion suddenly went off in the distance, but still clearly within the Uchiha district, and screams could be heard.

Fugaku sighed. "I spoke too soon." He then got up and rushed towards the damaged scene.

Sasuke came out of the house. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Go back to bed."

"But Fath-"

"I said go back to bed Sasuke!" Fugaku yelled before running off.

Sasuke just stood there, staring at his running father. "But... I don't sleep well at night." He saw a large pillar of smoke coming up from the ground in the distance. "Oh no, someone's hurt." He then ran off to see if he could help.

* * *

><p>Itachi jumped onto a roof, cleaning his sword of blood of the seven Uchiha who had been with his Uncle. "Damn. I didn't think there was fuel in those containers Uncle Nobu had behind him. Now the element of surprise is ruined for me. The Anbu better hurry up and cover the other areas fast."<p>

Itachi then ran towards the house of his next target, but stopped when someone else got on the roof in front of him.

Fugaku stared at Itachi, his Sharingan activated, who stared at his father with a cold merciless look. "Itachi? What are you doing?"

"Ending this madness of yours, Father. Eight are dead already, and the ANBU are finishing off the others."

Fugaku's eyes widened. "You betrayed us! You're killing your clan!" He sounded more shocked then angry.

"No Father, I am only executing the guilty. Mother, Sasuke, and those who you did not taint with your thoughts of rebellion will be spared. But everyone else who believes the world cannot owe them enough will be eliminated for the good of Konoha."

Fugaku practically snared and performed a set of hand signs. "Fire Style Blazing Hell Descension Jutsu!" He exhaled a wave of flame that took root on the roof before him and covered the entire thing with red fire. From it multiple hands of flame rose up in an effort to grab anyone nearby and pull them into the fire pit.

Itachi avoided it and appeared behind his father to strike his neck from behind. "Did you forget my skills Father?"

His attack misses and Fugaku himself appeared behind his talented son. "Did you forget who taught you those skills, Son?"

Fugaku tried attacking his son from behind and snapping his neck. Unfortunately his own comment gave him away so Itachi was able to duck and kick from behind. Fugaku took the hit and fell off the roof but he recovered quickly and landed safely on the ground beneath him.

Itachi came down and both father and son stared each other down, Sharingan blazing but ineffective against each other. This stare-down lasted only an instant, because Fugaku, the more hot-tempered of the two, charged forward making thirty fast hand signs. "Fire Style Fire Dragon Jutsu." He exhaled a stream of white-yellow fire that took the shape of a dragon and flew at Itachi.

Itachi substituted with a training log which burnt to a crisp and ran at his father, sword out and ready to pierce. He was stopped by a large collapsible shuriken flew in front of him and came very close to cutting his head off. Itachi turned to see the thrower, who turned out to be his uncle Nobu, covered in burns and bleeding badly

"You didn't kill me you fool." Nobu declared angrily.

Itachi didn't look phased. "Then I correct that mistake."

Fugaku took this opportunity to try and cut Itachi with a hidden kunai. Itachi was able to see this coming and grabbed his father's arm with his own, moving quickly enough to snap it. Nobu tried to come up from behind the talented young Uchiha but Itachi released Fugaku and turned around, using the kunai he took from Fugaku to stabbed his own brother in the neck.

Nobu fell to his knees clutching his throat. He knew pulling it out would only kill him quicker, so he decided to leave it in and see if he could get one last strike in before he died. He made two hand signs and tried to perform a Fireball Jutsu. Unfortunately for Nobu, the kunai in his throat interfered with that and made the metal grow incredibly hot as well as affect his concentration, resulting in himself spontaneously combusting.

While Itachi was momentarily distracted by the sudden unintentional suicide, Fugaku pinned Itachi down to the ground, one hand gripping Itachi's hair while the other held a second hidden kunai. The Clan Head dug his nails into his sons scalp as he slammed Itachi's head onto the ground. Once, twice, three times.

Itachi's nose was broken and blood dribbled from it, and then Fugaku pressed the kunai against his throat.

"I loved you Itachi, you were the very future of our clan and you betrayed us. You never take sides against your family."

It was then that Itachi spoke weakly. "You yourself took sides against Sasuke and the other children. You were willing to use them as simple means to an end."

"THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE! AND THE MOMENT THEY HAVE SERVED THEIR PURPOSE I WILL TOSS THEM ASIDE LIKE THE FREAKS THEY ARE!" He shouted.

"Freaks? They're your nieces and nephews and more, and even your own son."

"They are inhuman filth that serve one purpose and that's to be my tools. They were the perfect way for us to ensure we get what we deserve if they just trained hard enough. But I guess mere monsters aren't as strong as the legends claim. I had hopes for Sasuke, but he's no different or stronger than the rest of the trash. So he will share their fate too, as will you"

And then as if waiting for him to say that, out of the shadows came Sasuke, attacking his father from behind, sinking his fangs into Fugaku's neck.

The Leader of the Uchiha let out a cry of pain as he released his grip from Itachi, and stood up from the ground, trying to throw the child off him. But Sasuke held on tightly, refusing to let go.

Finally Fugaku reached behind his neck and grabbed his youngest child and using all of his strength he pulled Sasuke from him. He held the boy in front of him, Sasuke's mouth was dripping with blood and tears rolled down his cheeks as he cried. "Stop it Dad. Stop hurting Onii-chan."

Fugaku snarled in rage as he threw Sasuke aside. The crying child landed on the ground and looked up at his father, whose face was a mask of fury.

"TRAITORS, BOTH MY SONS ARE NOTHING BUT TRAITORS!" Fugaku swore as he advanced on Sasuke with his kunai in hand.

But he did not get to even take two steps because Itachi appeared behind him and drawing his own kunai he slit his father's throat in a near fluid motion.

And then Itachi whispered into his fathers ear "Never. Touch. Him."

Fugaku stood there for moment, his Sharingan began to fade as blood flowed from the wound on his neck. He then dropped to knees and then fell over, dead.

Itachi stood above his now deceased father, and dropped his kunai to the ground as he deactivated his Sharingan.

It was then that he turned and looked at his younger brother, Sasuke was sobbing in the ground, and his eyes were wide with terror at what he just witnessed.

Itachi felt as if his heart was being wrenched from his body. He had wanted to spare Sasuke this; he did not want his sibling to see him like this.

The elder Uchiha, walked over to Sasuke who cringed and hid his face as Itachi approached him. But then Sasuke felt a gentle hand placed on his head, he looked to see Itachi kneeling down and smiling weakly at him.

"Thank you for saving me Sasuke." He said.

His eyes still filled with tears, Sasuke leapt up and hugged Itachi tightly, and under the light of the full moon, Itachi, his clothing stained with the blood of his father and fellow Uchiha, hugged Sasuke back.

* * *

><p>The sun had just begun to rise when the mission to put down the Uchiha Rebellion ended in complete success. The ANBU combined with Itachi had combed through every inch of the Uchiha compound, they located and killed every member who had been a part of the Coup.<p>

In total one hundred and twenty-nine Uchiha had been killed. A few of them had been accidental victims, caught in the crossfires.

At the moment the entire compound was on lock-down from the inside while one the outside it did not look any different.

And in the Uchiha Main House, Sasuke was asleep, and Mikoto, after learning about the death of her husband, and the knowledge of what her clan had been planning to do, it had left her empty and oblivious to all. She had been placed in her room under guard.

While in another room, a meeting was being held.

"So what do we do about this now?" Sarutobi asked when they had a free moment. Currently he, Danzo, Kushina, Kakashi the head of ANBU, and Itachi were together.

"There's one more thing I must do Hokage-sama." Itachi said. "Not too long ago, I ran into a masked man who called himself Madara Uchiha."

"Madara?" Kushina repeated, alarmed, and immediately went right into Itachi's face. "You saw Madara?"

"I can't say for absolute certainty it was him, or even the same Madara you know, Miss Namikaze. He simply addressed himself by that name."

"Kushina, calm down. Let Itachi finish." Danzo told the redhead, who reluctantly agreed.

Itachi cleared his throat. "Anyway, this man confused me. He appeared to be much more powerful than he let on and well-informed. He was the one who suggested I make a stand against my own clan rather than turn a blind eye to their selfishness. He obviously knew what they were doing, and I can't help but wonder just how he had such information, and why he himself did nothing with it. It was like he was testing my reaction to it."

"Do you think you passed his test or failed it?" Danzo asked.

"I don't know. But he did tell me if I wanted to see him again, I was to meet with him at a specific place on a specific day."

Kushian growled. "Tell me where-"

"I'm sorry Miss Namikaze, but you cannot go." Itachi calmly countered. "He clearly stated that if anyone but me went there, he would not make any appearance at all."

"You're not seriously considering this are you?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't think I have much of a choice." Itachi claimed. "This man obviously knew a lot of things he shouldn't have had access to. Also, if Kushina is right, he was the one who slanders young Naruto within hours of his birth. If I do not comply, there's a strong chance he will slander tonight's actions to cause a civil war within Konoha. If I go to him, I may be able to stop that."

"Speaking of slander, how do we handle this mess? People are going to ask questions." Danzo stated.

"Why not tell everyone the truth?" Itachi suggested. "The Uchiha head got powerhungry and tried to rally his clan together to get what he wanted but some disagreed and fought back. A fight started and the Anbu were forced to intervene."

"It's not the complete truth, but it does work and allows the innocent Uchiha to save face with the public." Kakashi commented.

"What about you Itachi?" Kushina asked. "How do you fit into this cover? And if you're going out to see Madara, by yourself, how do we explain your absence?" She sounded a bit resentful when she said 'by yourself'.

"How about we say that Itachi found someone from outside the village supporting the Uchihas and volunteered for a long term mission to track them down and find them?" Sarutobi suggested.

"That could work." Danzo said. "It gives him a reason to be away but doesn't give him a fixed timeline to return to avoid suspicion."

Itachi nodded. "Very well, I will do so, but if I am to make it where I need to be, I must leave before the sun rises."

"You may go Itachi. Just remember to send back reports on what you find regarding Madara whenever you get the chance to."

"Will do Lord Hokage." The Uchiha prodigy said before leaving the room. After that, the meeting came to a close.

* * *

><p>Itachi entered Sasuke's room and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the coffinbed and looked down at his brother. The lid was open so he could see Sasuke sleeping soundly. From the look on his pale face, he was dreaming good dreams, as it should be.

Itachi reached out his hand as if to stroke Sasuke's hair, but he stopped himself midway, not wanting to awaken the boy.

'Sasuke, please understand why I do this, I do it to protect you, just as I did the night the Kyuubi attacked'

Itachi remembered the night of the Fox's attack, how he had cradled his brother in his arms while the rest of the clan went off to fight. He had been requested to fight, but he turned it down, saying his brother and mother needed to be watched over as well.

'You may hate me for leaving without saying goodbye, but I promise that I will come back one day. It may be a few years, but I will come back. And when I do, I'll give you that spar you always wanted.'

On the verge of shedding a couple of tears, Itachi placed a white envelop inside the coffin so Sasuke would see it when he awoke. He already left one for his mother on the kitchen table.

With nothing more to say, even to himself, Itachi turned around and left his house, not knowing when he'd return.

* * *

><p>The Valley of the End was located close to the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice. Getting there from Konoha at ninja speed took aprroximately two to three days depending on skill level. It was an important landmark because shortly after the foundation of Konoha, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha fought for control of the village in that very spot. Hashirama emerged victorious and Madara was believed to have died.<p>

But Madara Uchiha had survived his battle with his mortal enemy and now stood on top the statue of himself, staring at the recently arrived Itachi, who stood on the statue of Hashirama.

"I knew you would come." The masked man said as he jumped and landed right in front of Itachi, staring at the prodigy, and through the single eyehole, Itachi saw it, the Sharingan.

"You really are him, Uchiha Madara."

"The one and only." The man said as he proudly spread his arms out.

"How were you able to survive this long?" Itachi asked

"Oh more on that later, right now you and I must get going. There are several people I need you to meet."

"What people?"

Although Itachi could not see it, he was very sure Madara was smiling beneath his mask as he spoke. "The Akatsuki."

* * *

><p>Beneath Konoha, in the underground Headquarters for ROOT, and in his office, which resembled the Hokages, only with a darker tone, Danzo sat in his chair and stared at a kneeling ROOT agent.<p>

"They did what?" Danzo asked.

"All bodies of the slain Uchiha were burned sir. It was the Itachi boy's final request in private before he left. I suspect he may even have been the one to do the job." The agent said.

"Damn, all of those sharingans, gone. We lost a golden opportunity." Danzo said as he gripped his cane.

"On the positive side sir we have recruited fifty transformed children that were reported missing or KIA. And based off what we have read in myths and legends, they should prove to be very powerful agents for ROOT."

Danzo was silent as he thought the information. Fifty children hardly compared to the power he could have received if he had been able to retrieve the sharingans from the dead bodies. However based on the circumstances, it did make up some of the loss.

"Very well, begin their training at once."

"Yes sir." The ROOT said before disappearing.

'I may not have gotten all I wanted out of this, but I at least didn't come out empty-handed.' The war hawk thought, glancing at his right shoulder, although he couldn't really glance at his right eye. 'And with several demons waiting to be molded in my image, my ascension to power may happen even sooner than I anticipated despite my other loses. It's fortunate that foolish Kushina woman doesn't suspect me of ulterior motives, so I can manage to get information on demons directly from the source should I ever need to.'

Danzo got up and walked out of his office. 'But first, I'm going to test what I did acquire out. I'm a bit rusty and need to get back in form.'


	6. Chapter 6

"You called me Lord Hokage?" Kushina said as she entered the office.

"Yes, go ahead and sit down." Sarutobi told her. She did as asked and he folded his hands together. "Kushina, I'll be frank. I'm too old for this job and Konoha needs a hokage that's not afraid to have a backbone at all times. I know you blame me partially for your son's treatment over the years-"

"You're damn right I do." Kushina interjected with a pointed frown. "You and everyone else who had a responsibility to care for Naruto. Sure, you claim you did what you could do, but the way I see it, you all took the easy way out. And that's something I will never forgive, for any of you."

Sarutobi nodded. "But I have a way to make it up to you, beyond what I've already done."

Kushina arched an eyebrow. "Ok, I'm listening."

* * *

><p>A meeting of the shinobi and civilian councils was called and they met in their meeting room. The civilians that Kushina had killed not too long ago were now replaced by more Naruto-tolerant ones. The only seat empty now was the Uchiha seat.<p>

Sarutobi sat down and cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. "I've called you all here because there are two things I need to bring up. I'll start with the least controversial one. Because of last night's actions, the Uchiha clan has been reduced in numbers and is now without a clan head. We need to decide who would make an effective replacement for the late Fugaku and decide what the best thing to tell the public is."

"Lord Hokage, wouldn't it be simpler and more effective to let the Uchiha's themselves decide that?" Shikaku asked. "If there was none left, or even just one or two left, then I'd understand why we'd need to discuss this. But with so many still alive, wouldn't us discussing this just be outside interference?"

"Normally yes, but we are not here to make decisions for the Uchiha clan. We will let them decide who they want as their clan head, but before then I thought it would be wise for us to select the best candidates for such a position, to ensure future crimes do not occur." The hokage responded.

"You say that as if the last clan head did commit a crime." One of the civilian members stated.

"He did. Which is why no charges are going to be pressed against the one who killed him."

Another civilian gasped. "That's cruel."

"Save your judgment for after you hear the whole story." Sarutobi told them all. "Evidence was brought to me last night that Fugaku Uchiha has been for some time planning to execute a takeover of Konoha. He intended for all positions of power in this village to be filled by Uchiha's only. I can only guess at his motives, but the most likely one I can make is he felt Konoha owed him more than he was given."

"What evidence do you have of this?" Homura curiously asked.

Sarutobi passed the folder Itachi had brought him. The bespectacled old man looked thru it and Koharu managed to read over his shoulder. After a minute, Homura set it down and face the others. "It appears to be completely true. The Uchiha clan was indeed planning to usurp our village's leadership."

"How did you get ahold of this Hiruzen?" Koharu asked.

"Itachi Uchiha brought it to me. He felt torn between his duty to his clan and his duty to his village but he made a choice to inform us of what his clan was transpiring in the shadows. Not all Uchiha were involved or even informed so those left alone are innocent in this whole affair. He will be pardoned for his actions and I have sent him on a long term mission to be away from the village so lingering hostility from his own clan will not directly affect him."

"So do we tell the public about this?" Tsume asked.

"That's what I want to discuss with you all. I personally feel sharing this information will do no good. Telling the general populous that one clan planned a coup d`état will only make them suspicious of other clans and create more hostility in our village we do not need. We still have some people who blame Naruto for the previous kyuubi's actions and people who hate all the demon children for being demons. The last thing we need is to give them another thing to hate within the village."

"That is true. But will the Uchiha themselves stay silent on the matter?" Shibi asked.

"That is something that may be outside my control." Sarutobi relented. "There is a chance the Uchihas will tell others what happened in an effort to save face or settle confusion. If that happens there's nothing we can do about it. But if they don't we should plan for what to do on our end."

"I say if the Uchiha want to tell others, let them. And if they wish to remain silent on the matter, let them do that as well. You say the guilty parties are dead and only the innocent remain so it's only natural to let them decide." Hiashi commented.

"Are you certain all the guilty parties are apprehended?" A councilwoman asked. "What if a few escaped or are pretending to be ignorant?"

Sarutobi nodded. "We are aware of such a possibility. I have hunter nin scouting the surrounding areas for any potential escapees and all adult Uchiha are being examined by the T&I department. I have no reason to believe any of the children are involved in the takeover. Although according to the records here, Fugaku and the other Uchihas intended their demonized children to be their weapons for the takeover."

"So how can you be so certain that they were uninvolved?" Danzou asked.

"Because Fugaku's son has already proven to be completely unaware of what his father intended him for. He just thought his father was giving him personal yet difficult training. If the child of the one leading the takeover was uninformed, how likely is it any other child was informed?" Sarutobi pointed out.

"Quite unlikely." Inoichi said. "But not impossible."

Sarutobi was silent for a moment, thinking that over. "I suppose you are right. In that case, those in favor of allowing harmless interrogations of the Uchiha children?" Many were hesitant to vote in favor of this, but enough cautious people in the room both shinobi and civilian were. "Very well then, the Uchiha children will be questioned on what if anything they knew. But Kushina will be the one to do it since she would be the ideal choice for obvious reasons."

"I can do that. With luck I can finish in a day." Kushina stated.

"I'm glad that's taken care of. As for the Uchiha, how many feel we should let them handle telling others?" Sarutobi asked. Few hands went up. "So the majority feel we should decide for them?"

"It's not so much we wish to deny them their freedom Hokage-sama as protect the village's interests." Shikaku commented. "Remember, the Uchiha were about to do something rather dishonorable. If we let them handle their own admittance with complete inaction on our own ends, we'll have no way to determine what they may say. They could easily place the blame for the disaster on a convenient scapegoat or say the demons in Konoha brainwashed their leader into doing this. If they do then hostility will run amok in our population and a civil war will be inevitable."

"So what do you recommend?"

Shikaku paused to consider any drawbacks, then spoke. "I say we gather the remaining influential Uchihas and discuss this with them directly, in hopes of reaching a decision that should hopefully not give the citizens a target to vent anything on."

"Like you should have done with my son." Kushina bitterly commented. No one responded, fearful of any comeback she may add.

Danzou cleared his throat. "On a similar matter, this still leaves the Uchiha clan without a head or representative. One must be appointed soon to maintain order. I know Fugaku's wife probably comes to mind first, but with her close ties to the mastermind behind this entire conspiracy and her emotional compromise over the matter, I feel she is probably the least fit available option."

Kushina gave the warhawk a curious look. "It sounds like you already have someone in mind. Praytell who?"

Danzou tried to look wise but not imposing right then. "We need a representative for the Uchiha clan to keep their seat on the council filled and avoid conflicts in future votes and issues. But from my perspective none of the remaining Uchiha are truly trustworthy. We would need months of intensive interrogating to find any potential sleeper agents in their midst, time we do not have to spare without a representative for them. I propose we have someone from outside the Uchiha fill in the council seat for them until we can determine their trustworthiness."

"I presume you already have a list of candidates you believe are best suited?" Sarutobi asked.

Danzou shook his head. "No, I do not. I feel we should put the matter to a vote between us on this." 'I'd love to have such a list but having it right now would look suspicious and self-serving. I got to play my cards right here.'

Sarutobi thought it over. "A good choice would be someone who has connections to the clan but not just to Fugaku and those involved in the takeover. They should be informed enough about the Uchiha clan to know how they would vote on such matters so they do not vote on their own behalf and simply claim they're representing the clan. They also need to be someone who the Uchiha can trust to represent them for the time being."

"Why not you Kushina?" One of the civilians asked.

Kushina waved it off. "I would, but I've got a different responsibility to do so I'm afraid I must decline."

"How about Danzou?" Koharu asked. "He did lead his own division of Anbu so he could be a good leader of the police forces."

"I believe the task here was to replace the clan representative, not the head of police. That is still the Uchiha's domain." Kushina replied.

"And I disbanded the ROOT division when they displayed suspicious activity on missions. Having secondary missions that do not come from the hokage is just treason in disguise." Sarutobi added with a pointed look at his old rival, who shrugged the whole thing off.

"And besides, Danzou always has a spot on the council. To give him a new one means we'd have to select a whole representative to fill his vacant spot." Kushina reminded everyone.

Danzou was irritated to see everyone sway against him on this now. 'Dammit! That was supposed to be a stepping stone on my rise to power. I barely have any power with my current spot. Representing a clan like the Uchihas would have given me much more leeway in this weakening village.'

"How about Kakashi Hatake? He should work?" Shikaku suggested.

"Yeah, I can see that." Chouza added.

Sarutobi nodded. "Alright, the matter will be brought to him but he will decide if he wants it and if he does we'll approach the Uchihas about it." He received many nods. "Okay, with that out of the way, I have one last announcement. I've decided to step down as hokage and have already selected my replacement."

Danzou worked overtime to hide his grimace. 'Damn, we can't force that matter to a vote since legally he's allowed to pick his own replacement. Maybe if I slander his the candidate well enough the council will vote against their selection and force the matter to a vote.'

"I've chosen Kushina Namikaze to be Godaime Hokage, effective today." Sarutobi told everyone.

'This day can not get any worse for me.' Danzou bitterly thought. 'If I slander her, I lose any chance of acquiring the Namikaze jutsus from her with minimal struggle. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.'

"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" A civilian councilwoman asked.

Sarutobi nodded. "She has all the skills she had before her death, now has the power equivalent to a nine-tailed demon, as knowledge vital to our village's future, and can enforce the law in ways I cannot so easily do anymore. The way I see it, she's perfect for the job."

"But won't that conflict with her other duties?" Another civilian asked.

"Ah the miracle of shadow clones." Kushina casually stated. "With them, I can raise the kids, keep a direct eye on the town, handle the paper work, and even relax all at once. It won't be a problem for me one bit."

"I see one problem however." Shibi proclaimed. "As far as outside villages are considered, Kushina Uzumaki and the Namikaze name died about six years ago. How would you explain your sudden reappearance?"

Kushina smirked. "I've got that covered. We don't actually tell anyone that I'm Hokage, even our own citizens. What I do is create a henge shadow clone to work as a stand-in for when other ninja come here for business so no one knows I'm the actual Hokage. The only reason I say the citizens of Konoha should be kept in the dark is to reinforce the illusion so they don't accidentally tell the truth to someone not from Konoha."

"In theory that could work. But wouldn't that also create a lot of mental stress for you over time?" Shikaku asked.

Kushina shrugged. "Maybe, but it's worth a shot. If the need ever does come I reveal my true identity, I'll handle that when the time comes."

"I'll be announced my retirement tomorrow and will introduce Kushina's created person as the Godaime Hokage, but only those of us in this room will know who the true hokage is. If anyone outside this room finds out, that will be considered an act of treason and careless spreading of classified information not meant for public ears." Sarutobi told everyone, who nodded. "Good. Anything else?" No one had anything to bring up. "Then we are adjourned."

* * *

><p>The next day Sarutobi gathered everyone in front of the Hokage tower that could be pulled away from their job. "Everyone, I'd like to announce that effective today a new Hokage will be taking my place. Allow me to introduce the Godaime Hokage." He told everyone then stepped aside.<p>

Everyone saw a young woman approach where Sarutobi had been standing. She looked to be about thirty years old with long brown hair that had yellow bangs covering her forehead. She wore what looked like a blue version of Ibiki's trench coat with yellow stripes up and down the sleeves, over a red mesh shirt, grey belt, and a pair of off-white pants. Up close one could see she had pink eyes and orange ear rings.

"Hello people of Konoha, I am Mito Kajotenpi, your new Hokage." She said. This was the disguised clone Kushina had worked on, using the late Mito Senju-Uzumaki as a model for it and giving her a surname that originated from Uzushio. The voice sounded warm and maternal, much like how Kushina remembered the originalMito's voice.

"A woman? Hokage?" Some random man in the crowd asked, like he didn't think such a thing would work.

Before any kunoichi nearby could remind him of a woman's strength, Mito did it for them. She formed a small ball of bright red chakra over her hand and fired it at the chauvinist. Upon contact he exploded like he was in a microwave.

Mito leaned forward and now frowned. "Let this be a lesson to you all. I do not take crap and I am no pushover. This goes for everyone who lives here in Konoha, be they ninja or civilian."

"But... only the ninja fall under the hokage's jurisdiction." One frightened civilian claimed.

Mito leaned down slightly and smiled in a frightening way. "How wrong you are. The Hokage has jurisdiction over all of Konoha. And everyone who lives in it. Haven't you ever noticed there is no civilian equivalent for Hokage? And no the civilian council is not that. They are only there to ensure the needs of the civilians and the maintenance of the city's utilities are not ignored; they are not meant to have power over anything, especially the ninja."

Several civilians didn't look happy to hear this, but few actually looked angry.

Sarutobi addressed the crowd. "I am retiring because it is time for young blood to lead this village again. I am getting tired of leading a village that discriminates it's own residents so easily. What is needed is a leader who is not afraid to remind the people of the consequences of their actions and the ability to reinforce the law themselves if need be. That is why I've chosen this woman."

"How do you plan to deal with the demon infestation new Hokage?" A civilian woman with pink hair asked.

"There is no 'infestation' as you so callously put it." Mito replied. "They're just innocent children that happened to be a victim of circumstance. Don't speak of them like you would rats or cockroaches."

"Great, we've got another demon lover in charge. Somebody should revolt." The same woman said to those around her, certain the Hokage couldn't hear.

Mito appeared before this woman so fast people didn't even notice the shushin trail. "Care to say that to my face?"

"Uh... please forgive me?"

"Good, because I'd hate have to execute someone for conspiring treason and revolt on my first day in office."Mito replied in a way that would have made Mei Terumi proud before reappearing back to the balcony.

* * *

><p>While the new hokage was being sworn in, Naruto was starting his first day at the Academy. He walked in with Sakura and Hinata going alongside him. Hinata wanted to stay close to him because he was carrying a spare lollipop for her in case she for some reason lost the one she currently had, and Sakura was with him in case her parents happened to see her. Tagging along all three of them were Kushina and more kids in the demon orphanage.<p>

Because of the change in species for many children, Konoha now had two orphanages, the original and the one Kushina turned the Namikaze Estate into. The only difference between the two was that all the demon children lived at the Namikaze one and the kids that stayed human stayed at the original one. This was done primarily for the sake of the demon children who could be proper treatment in the new home, as well as keep them safe from any demon haters in the original.

They stopped when they reached the gates. Kushina spoke to them all. "Okay you kids, behave yourselves and no using your abilities. I don't even want you to lose your human forms unless your lives are in danger. Is that clear?" They all obediently nodded. "Good. Remember, pay attention to your teachers and learn as much as you can. I'll see you all later when you get back home." The kids went into the school waving goodbye to her which she returned before walking away.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura got their room assignments and went inside when they found it. It was an ordinary classroom, with the desks built on levels to make it easier for students to view the teacher and vice versa. Hinata went towards the side of the room furthest from the window to avoid being in the sun all day long, and seeing no reason not to, Naruto and Sakura decided to sit beside her.

More students came in and randomly chose their seats. The first one to sit next to them was a dark-haired boy who didn't look too happy and sat right in front of them. "Hey, your name is Sasuke, right?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke turned around. "Yeah. You're Miss Kushina's son right?"

Naruto nodded. "How ya been?"

Sasuke looked away. "Better."

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing you can do anything about. I just... got some disturbing news."

"You haven't been cast out by your family too have you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, but I did lose a bit of it. I'd rather not say more about it."

Naruto nodded. "That's fine. We're all trying to make adjustments now. Just don't forget you don't have to be alone. None of us do."

Sasuke didn't show it, but he was actually glad to hear that.

In no time the classroom was filled with students waiting for their instructor to show up. Most of them Naruto now recognized thanks to Kushina introducing him when she told the parents what their children had become. From what he could tell, not one of them was a human. Only the students two years older would be.

In walked two men, one had brown hair in a pineapple style and had a scar across his face, while the other had blueish white hair and no obvious markings. Both stood in front of them room and looked over the students, who were uncomfortably quiet. "Hello, and welcome to your first day at Konoha's ninja academy. I am Iruka Umino and next to me is Mizuki Touji. From now on, we will be your homeroom teachers for the next few years. We hope to see you learn you're hardest and become fine ninja when you graduate."

"Speaking of graduation, there is something you all should know." Mizuki added. "Normally you attend these classes for about six years, using that time to learn how fight and how to think, as well as knowing the history and general knowledge of the ninja world. Occasionally, we allow some students to try and take the graduation test early, if they show promise and/or the Hokage requests it. However, due to changes outside our control, I'm afraid that will not be an option for any of you."

"What do you mean?" A random student asked.

"I mean that because of the changes you all were sadly forced to undergo, we have to modify the curriculum to better suit your new needs. Because of that, to make things fair for the unaffected students, we have to forbid you all the right to an early graduation. Unless Lord Hokage requests it, none of you will be able to try and graduate early." Mizuki explained.

None of the students complained. Iruka smiled. "With that said, today we'll just get you prepared for what to expect in the next few years. This is probably going to be the only easy day you'll have here."

Now some of the kids looked apprehensive.

* * *

><p>At the end of the day everyone went home. Like before, Sakura and Hinata walked with Naruto back to the Namikaze estate. Sasuke walked home alone.<p>

When Sasuke got home, he saw no sign of his mother. 'She must still be upset. She's probably visiting Miss Kushina or something.' He though at he walked into his room. He set down his recently acquired school supplies on his desk, next to a letter atop an opened envelope. For no particular reason, he looked over it again.

_"Sasuke, I'm sorry to have to tell you this way, but I have to leave the village for a long time. Something's going on that may be a gigantic threat to Konoha, and Lord Hokage wants me to investigate. I don't know when I can come back or when I can see you again, but I promise that only death will stop me from doing so._

_Grow strong and train well while I'm gone, so I can give you that spar you want when I return. All I ask of you are three things. Help our mother, for she will need it. Don't try to find me, I'm away to keep you safe. And remember that Uchiha's are not the only ones in the village or world with strength so don't be afraid to ask for help, but always keep in mind where that help comes from. Also, if it's not too much to ask for, please don't hate me for what I did. I needed to leave and I needed to punish our clan members. They wanted nothing but bad things for Konoha and were willing to use your blood and sweat to get it. Even Father. If I had not killed them, someone else would have, or they may have endangered you and our cousins. I hope you understand I did only what I thought was best for you._

_I wish you the best and look forward to when I can see you again little brother. Itachi."_

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm still not sure what to say. Onii-chan killed Father but to help me. Was that really what Father wanted for me? To be his tool? I thought he was just angry at Onii-chan when he said that. Did he really mean it? Did I mean nothing to him?"

He sat down on the closed lid of his coffin. "I think I need to talk to Mom about this." Sasuke closed his closed his eyes and soon fell asleep, but he did not dream.

* * *

><p>Mikoto meanwhile was at Kushina's house having some coffee in the kitchen. She looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Kushina sat across from her drinking some water.<p>

"Everything will be okay Mikoto." Kushina said to start things off.

The dark-haired woman wiped her eyes of a few tears. "I'm not sure I can believe that. My husband was going to betray the village and get my sons involved in it. Most of my family is dead and Itachi has to leave for who-knows-how-long. All I have left is my Sasuke."

"Then you know you can't just give up." Kushina replied. "Mikoto, I lost my husband and family too. My Naruto is all I have left in the world. That alone is what gives me the strength to get out of bed each morning and keep living. You don't have the luxury of just giving up now that your world's been turned around."

"I know, but you have it easier. You two share a bond I can't have with Sasuke now."

Kushina shook her head. "You're wrong. Well, you're right about the bond me and Naruto share now, given our changes. But you still have a bond with your son. He still needs his mother to keep him on the right track and help him deal with the loss of his father and brother. He needs you too, Mikoto. If you give up, you're leaving him on his own. The Mikoto I knew wasn't selfish enough to not care about how hurt her son would be."

Mikoto's tears looked liek they stopped falling. "You're right. I'm not the only one hurt by this. I need to be strong for my son. Thanks Kushina."

The redhead nodded. "No problem. Besides, you have a bond with your son I can't compete with either."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious? I was gone for six years. I never got a chance to hold him as a baby, nurse him from my breast, sing him a lullaby to put him to sleep, watch his first steps, hear his first word..." As she spoke she sounded increasingly sadder. "You have no idea what I'd give up to have those experiences."

Mikoto reached over and gently placed her hand on top of her friend's hand. "At least you're here now, so you can be there for him in the future. And the other kids you've taken in need you too, so like me you don't like the luxury of giving up."

"Who said I was giving up? I haven't changed that much Mikoto."

"Yeah, that's why you still make a lousy cup of coffee." Mikoto joked with a smile.

"Minato always liked it." Kushina replied with a smile too.

"Name one time he badmouthed something you made for him." The dark-haired woman responded.

"You got me there, but it's still not lousy." The redhead replied, grateful the good mood had been restored.

She heard the door open. "Mom?" Naruto called out.

"In here son." She called back, before facing Mikoto again. "I'm glad he doesn't sound so nervous anymore when he does that. At first he almost never called out or sounded like he was afraid I was gone when he did. I guess that comes from six years of living alone."

Naruto and the two girls walked into the kitchen. "Hi Mom."

"Hi Miss Kushina." Sakura and Hinata greeted.

"Hi kids. Did you enjoy your first day?"

"It was okay I guess. But I think a few of the teachers don't like me." Naruto said.

"Why's that?" Kushina and Mikoto asked.

"We went outside before lunch to see the training areas and one class were using one of them, and their teacher 'accidentally' threw a kunai towards me when we left." Naruto told her. "He missed though, but I'm sure he wasn't trying to."

Kushina didn't know what sickened her more, the fact this happened or how Naruto's voice and body language gave her reason to believe this had happened before. "Don't worry, I'll have a talk about this with the headmaster. I'm not letting anyone in town thinking they can get away with mistreating you any longer." She then looked over towards Sakura and Hinata. "And that includes all of you now."

"Calm down Kushina." Mikoto carefully said. "I know your heart's in the right place, but you can't protect them 24/7."

Kushina leaned back in her chair. "Sorry, I guess my new demon instincts are amplifying my maternal side. But still if someone does anything to harm the people I love… well, then they won't live to regret it."

* * *

><p>In his office at ROOT Headquarters Danzou paced back and forth, while his ever loyal lieutenant still dressed in an Anbu uniform and a mask covering his face stood there, not moving or speaking.<p>

"Once again my destiny has been denied to me." Danzou muttered under his breath as he gripped his cane.

"You are still an important member of the village vouncil sir, and with Fugaku gone you can in time acquire direct control over the Police Force." The Lt. offered his master

"But when compared with the title of Hokage it is nothing. And I have no way to gain influence over this… Mito Kajotenpi." Danzou muttered. 'If I were to use some sort of mind control over the henged clone, it would dispell and alert Kushina, which would lead to my downfall. Not only that, it would be incredibly suspicious is 'Mito' and Kushina disagreed on something/ But if I were to target Kushina directly, she could break free of any control by having her clone destroyed and the flux in knowledge disrupting any mental-affecting jutsu. Targeting both at the same time is risky and likely to fail, and even if it succeeded there's aways the chance more clones are around to free them. This woman is completely uncontrollable by me.'

"Perhaps there is something in her past or flaw in her techniques we can exploit. What do we know of her?" The lieutenant asked, ignorant of the true hokage's identity.

"Nothing, we have no record or file on her, she is an enigma." The crippled warhawk replied. 'At least for now. If Kushina's smart she'll create one in case any of our allies get curious about our hokage's background, even though she'd keep it secret and only tell harmless information.'

"Every target has a weakness Sir. You yourself make that a clear point in training." The ROOT nin replied.

Danzou rubbed his chin as he thought aloud. "Hmmm... Sarutobi must know something that we do not. He wouldn't simply pick anyone to lead this village unless he absolutely trusted them, a trust he has yet to grant to me." He said bitterly. He was of course referring to Kushina then.

At the moment Danzou was conflicted on whether or not to share information about Mito's true identity with the rest of his ROOT or even with part of it. He knew without a doubt he could force them all to keep silent, but modifying the tongue seals to include that might risk compromising the original purpose, and though he hadn't to admit flaw, Danzou was no seal expert and had none under his control. At the same time, if any of the new recruits overheard and happened to give that information out before their training completed, it would put him and his organization at risk under the new authority Konoha had.

'For now, it's best that everyone in ROOT believes what they already believe about this Mito Kajotenpi.' He ultimately relented.

"Sarutobi is a fool Sir, his only wise decision was admitting the Leaf was better off without him in charge right now. What do you wish to be done with the new Lady Hokage?"

"For now, nothing, we shall wait and see what she does. I will work to gain her favor and trust, and see what I can take from her. When she eventually makes a wrong move… we will crush her."


	7. Chapter 7

Six years had passed since the event that affected Konoha's children so much, the event that came to be referred to in general as the Great Change. Kushina's claims had proven accurate, for the next two years any infant born had been born a demon regardless of who the parents were. In the third year though, more human children started to be born again, and by the time the fourth year started, no more demonized children were being born.

The weirdest thing of all was there had been an unforeseen victim of the Great Change. They were the puppies of the Inuzuka ninken, who all had been transformed into hellhounds. Kushina honestly didn't understand exactly how they got involved despite the fact no other animal did, but apparently they had been. Her guess was their chakra systems were close enough to humans to be affected. In any case, the hellhounds were still able to bound with partners who were also demons, so Kiba still got Akamaru as his partner.

Kushina taught them all how to disguise themselves as humans and release the disguises to take on their true forms so they could be out in public without attracting attention and also be comfortable at home too. Being able to take on their real forms in the comfort of their own homes was always relaxing for them.

Some of them didn't have to worry about having two different forms to live with. Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Hinata, Ino, and Lee could all easily pass for human even in their demon forms, as long as they didn't use their demon powers. Some of them preferred to be in their demon forms more though when given the chance. Tenten enjoyed the flexibility and natural attacks of her cat demon form, and Shikamaru had to admit he felt better balanced when in his crow demon form. Hanabi was similar, preferring her harpy form and hating having to switch between it and her human form since it affected her limbs.

Naruto had gotten used to being a fox demon, but what surprised him the most was the treatment he got from the villagers now. Some of the adults continued to look at him with unconcealed hate, but now he wasn't the only target they had. In that time, Konoha had gotten used to their children being this way and had learned to adapt to their kids unique needs. But there were still some small groups that still had some resentment towards the demon children; however they kept what they said quiet, lest they face the wrath of Kushina. While some of the adults learned that he wasn't the kyuubi, but still connected so they were cautious but not spiteful. But when it came to the kids, none of them felt any need to avoid him even if their parents told them to. They were too much like Naruto now and had some enemies among the adults; now was not a time for the demon children to turn against each other.

One of the problems they had to face was becoming actual genin. The first year to attempt this apparently resulted in a lot of failures. Some of them seemed to not understand the point behind the second genin test while others were deemed not ready to take it or the first. The Academy Director told Mito that they were still adjusting, but she suspected a hint of sabotage was involved. Without proof, it couldn't be changed, and thus the first class of demon students had only one passing team, the team led by Gai.

To this day Mito and Kushina still found it weird that a team that had Neji, a dog demon, and Tenten, a cat demon on it could succeed where the others could not. They also found it odd but not unexpected that Lee, in natural doppelganger fashion, tended to mimic Gai so much. For now, Kushina was willing to accept the possibility that they just lucked out over the others, but she still suspected foul play had been involved.

For Naruto's class, she would not accept only one team passing again. Even if it was Naruto's team.

* * *

><p>With Naruto's class, all the tests to see who qualified as genin had just finished. The teachers Iruka and Mizuki were taking a brief break to add up their scores and see who passed and who didn't. So for now the students just relaxed.<p>

"Hey Ino, you still coming to the Namikaze Mansion to celebrate tonight?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Oh absolutely. A party for all us who graduate being held by Mrs. Namikaze? I'm there. Especially if there's karaoke."

Sakura shook her head. "No way. The last time we let a siren like you sing like that you had us all this close to ripping each other's clothes off." She held her index finger and thumb less than an inch apart to emphasize her point.

Ino smirked deviously. "I doubt that you would be complaining if you got a chance to see Naruto without a shirt on." She said slyly and then added. "I know I wouldn't'"

The banshee blushed and looked away. "Why would you think that? I live with the guy. You think I've never seen him or one of the others shirtless? It's nothing new to me."

"Then why are you blushing like Hinata does around him?" Ino asked.

"Shut up."

"I… I would not mind seeing Naruto without a shirt." Hinata said timidly as she appeared in the seat next to Sakura.

Both she and Ino jumped from their seats "Where did you come from?" They both said together.

"I like being up here better. It's right under the air vent so I can stay nice and cool… and I can get a good view of Naruto." She said as she pointed to Naruto who was talking with both Kiba and Chouji.

All three girls sighed as they stared dreamily at the blonde.

Naruto was well aware he had an audience at the moment. His mother explained to him that female demons tend to gain an interest in the strongest male they knew, even if he wasn't of the same species, though they favor their own kind if they can. As a three-tailed kitsune, and son of the woman they all most respected, he was easily the most eligible mate-material they knew. Only Sasuke was considered his equal in terms of appeal and had a fan club of his own.

Fortunately no one's mating drive had kicked in yet so there was no pressure for Naruto to pick a girl he wanted. And right now he was too concerned about hurting any of them to give them ideas that he liked one more than the other.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the fourth member of his fanclub decided to make herself known. "Good morning Naruto." She said with a purr. She was Yakumo Kurama, a fellow kitsune though only a two-tailed one. The Great Change affected her kekkei genkai just enough to fuse her Id persona with her normal persona in an unexpected way, but didn't do much regarding her genjutsu skills. Without the fear of her mental monster, Yakumo had grown to become a vibrant confident vixen with great battle skills. She was currently the top ranked kunoichi student.

"Good morning Yakumo." Naruto politely replied.

"The party is supposed to start at 7:00 right?"

"6:00 actually."

"Oh, my mistake. Should I bring anything?" Yakumo asked, almost in a flirty way.

"Bring some hibachi. That sounds good." Chouji saidd.

Yakumo gave him a flat look. "I wasn't talking to you fatso."

Chouji snarled and stood up, slamming his hands on the desk hard enough to crack it but not destroy it. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

Yakumo did not look intimidated in the least. "You're going to suck at being a ninja if you lose your cool with a single word. That's a weakness any enemy would love to exploit."

"I've told him the same thing, but it still strikes a nerve with him." Shikamaru stated.

"Yakumo, you better apologize before Chouji hurts you." Naruto told the vixen demon.

She sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry Akimichi. But I'm serious, you're going to get in trouble someday if you never learn to handle criticism."

"Ok class, sit down." Iruka called out as he and Mizuki came into the room. All the standing students sat down in the closest available seats. In Yakumo's case that was the one right in front of Naruto. "Today we'll see how much you've learned and if you've got the skills to become genuine ninja. Let's start off simple with the written portion of the test."

"You call that simple?" Naruto complained.

"Compared to actual ninja work, yes." Iruka said before he and Mizuki started handing out the tests.

* * *

><p>The day went by with several tests for the genin-hopefuls. There was a written test, a speed test, an accuracy test, taijutsu spars, and of course the jutsu test at the end. Originally that consisted of only three jutsus, the henge, kawarimi, and clone jutsus, but not anymore. Those three remained as the henge and kawarimi did come in handy, and the clone jutsu while rarely used did qualify as a good test of chakra control, but Mito required more added to it to truly show how much the students had learned. One more requirement was a display of an applicable jutsu or skill that each student learned outside the academy curriculum.<p>

That night everyone in Konoha could see the lights from the Namikaze Mansion where the party celebrating everyone graduating from the Academy. All the attendees were in their true demon forms for maximum comfort showing off their new hitai-ates.

The place had been wonderfully decorated. Balloons, streamers, banners that said 'Congratulations', there was music, lights, and tables stacked high with food.

Chouji, given his family and the fact he was a troll, was immensely enjoying the wide variety of food, filling his plate with great amounts.

Shikamaru stood next to his friend and rolled his eyes "Hey save some for the rest of us would you."

"Oh please, I could have five helpings and still not make a dent in it." Chouji grunted as he grabbed a fork.

"Just save some room for dessert." The crow demon said.

The troll boy laughed and patted his belly "I always have room for dessert. Besides, why do you care? You eat like a bird."

"I _am_ a bird."

Meanwhile on the dance floor, admirers circled Lee and clapped as he performed impressive dance moves. Being a doppelganger he had the ability to copy anything he saw. And this was just not limited to fighting styles. He used his skill to memorize various dancing techniques and was performing them with expert precision. He and his teammates Neji and Tenten had been invited to be a sort of inspiration to the genin-hopefuls. Currently Neji and Tenten were regaling some of their more exciting missions with the younger demons, trying to ignore the cat and dog jokes they kept hearing.

"Naruto come dance with me please?" Sakura said as she gently grabbed the kitsune's arm.

"No, Naruto wants to dance with me." Ino told Sakura as she grabbed Naruto's other arm a tad bit more firmly.

Naruto looked at both girls with confusion. "Wait, I never said-"

Suddenly both girls started pulling on his arms, trying to get the other to let go.

"Let go of him Forehead!" Ino shouted.

"You let go Pig!" Sakura yelled back, not quite a banshee yell but it was still loud.

"If you both don't let go, you're gonna rip me in half." Naruto cried.

And then, from out of nowhere, Hinata appeared, a blush on her pale face. "I want Naruto to dance with me."

Yakumo then showed up. "Hey, I'm the mesugitsune here so I get first dibs."

From across the room Kushina and Mikoto, two of the adult chaperones at the party, laughed lightly as they watched the four girls argue over who Naruto would dance with. It soon got to where it looked like they were going to attack each other for it.

"Ah young love, there is nothing cuter." Kushina said.

Mikoto nodded "Indeed. This reminds me of when we were children and every girl in the village was trying to get Minato to go on a date with them."

Kushina smiled. "Like father like son. By the way where is Sasuke?"

Mikoto looked around and after a moment she pointed over to the corner, where Sasuke was having a conversation with Tenten and Neji.

"It's good to see him getting out and being social with others." Kushina commented.

"I was a bit worried that he might not want to come to the party, but when your son invited him he seemed very happy." Mikoto replied.

"It's good that our boys are becoming such good friends. I had thought that they might turn into big rivals like Fugaku and Minato were during their youth."

"Remember how when they went up against each other in the Chuunin exam and nearly destroyed the arena?"

Kushina laughed "I do. Sarutobi had to call it a draw until they could rebuild the place."

Both of them women laughed, enjoying the happier memories they had of their late husbands.

It was then that Kushina sensed someone coming up behind her, so she turned around to see Iruka and Mizuki standing there.

"Greetings Lady Kushina." Iruka said politely and bowed his head and Mizuki did the same.

Kushina smiled. "Hello to both of you. I didn't know that you were coming to the party."

"Well we heard that you need some adults to help watch over the kids while they celebrated. So we figured we would volunteer." Mizuki said.

"Plus as teachers we wanted to see our students off one more time before they all go off on missions." Iruka added with a grin.

"Well it's good that you are both here, because one of the kids vomited in the other room and we need someone to clean it up." Kushina said with an evil smirk.

Both chuunin looked mortified. "Why us?" Iruka asked.

"Because none of the other chaperones will do it." Kushina replied pointing to the other adults enjoying the party. "I'll make sure you're paid."

"Fine, I'll do it. Where is it?" Mizuki said, sighing.

"In the kitchen, you can't miss it. Oh, and it might be a good idea to make sure it doesn't actually touch your skin." Kushina said, trying not to laugh at the teacher's horror.

"Is it really that bad?" Mikoto quietly asked when the men were out of earshot.

"It came from a fire demon. You tell me."

* * *

><p>While the girls were arguing, Naruto slipped away and moved to the back corner to take a breath, and there he saw Sasuke, leaning against the wall and watching everyone.<p>

Naruto walked over and leaned against the wall next to the vampire, the two of them watched the others in silence for a bit, until Naruto spoke.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" He asked.

Sasuke looked over and nodded. "Very much."

"Why aren't your fangirls hanging around you right now?" Naruto asked.

"Because I'm enjoying a drink and I think they're afraid I'll bite them if they get too close." SAsuke said while drinking from a cup of blood. "I probably would. Blood always tastes better when warm."

"Guess I better get away then." Naruto joked, taking a step away from the vampire.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh please, if I bit you I'd get rabies or something."

A girl came up to them both. "Hey Sasuke. Got any extra on you? I'm starving." This was a vampire like him, a girl in their class named Kaede Shizuka who was one of Sasuke's fangirls. She had long black hair and grey eyes that almost matched the grey eyes Sasuke had. She wore a green kimono top but the bottom of her outfit was a white skirt, complete with blue shoes and white knee-high socks. Her most unique feature was a gold brooch she wore at her collar with a bat symbol on it.

"Sorry, no. But go ask my mom, she might. She sometimes keeps some on hand for me." Sasuke told her.

"Thanks. Don't get too busy while I'm gone." Kaede said as she walked off.

Naruto smirked. "Looks like you're going to be forced to dance too."

Sasuke groaned and frowned at his kitsune friend. "If you really want them to leave you alone, you could go alpha on them. Then they'll have to obey you."

Naruto shook his head. "Doing that will encourage them to get into their mating frenzy early and that will only cause more problems."

"I guess you got a point."

"What's the matter? Impotent? Is that why you two aren't near the girls?" A new voice asked from behind, startling both boys. They turned around to see Sai smiling as he always does. Sai was a tanuki, meaning he had dark rings around his eyes and a raccoon tail ears, and as a tanuki he tended to be blunt and liked to talk about genitalia for some reason.

"Shut up Sai." Naruto said.

Sai just smiled. "If I had a girl after me, I'd let her show me a good time."

"Until you open your mouth. How many girls have slapped you already?" Naruto asked.

"I've never counted." The pale artist answered, still smiling, making Naruto and Sasuke anime-sweat.

* * *

><p>Everyone was too busy partying to notice that Mizuki had been away for a long time. Too long to simply being doing what Kushina asked him to. Fortunately everyone had been on the ground floor except for the youngest children who were trying to go to sleep. A sound barrier jutsu had already been put in place between the two floors so they wouldn't hear the downstairs party.<p>

'Lucky for me that means they can't hear me either.' The blue-haired teacher thought. 'Demons may look like humans, but they're as dumb as animals most of the time.'

Even if the big threats like Kushina couldn't hear him, Mizuki was well aware that the ones in this floor could, so he moved as silently as he could, trying to find his quarry. 'Hmm...If I had something incredibly valuable, where would I hide it? It would have to be where none of these kids could get to it, but accessible for the head bitch here. I should probably look for her room then. Now the only problem is finding it.'

Some of the doors had decorations on them, telling him that children used those rooms. All of them were closed due to the occupants trying to sleep. But the one thing they all had in common were two slots on them filled with name plates to reveal who used these rooms. Judging from the looks of things, each room was shared by two children, probably because the estate wasn't big enough to give them all individual rooms.

With nothing else to guide him, Mizuki scanned the names until he would find either a door without or one that said Kushina on it. First he found an unmarked room, and carefully opened the door.

This room was a restroom. Not what he was looking for.

Closing the door, Mizuki continued his search.

* * *

><p>"Sakura?" Kushina called over to the girl.<p>

"Yes Miss Kushina?" She said as she came over.

"Could you please find Mizuki? He and Iruka came over to help out with the party, but I think he might have gotten lost."

Sakura nodded. "Of course Miss Kushina." She said as she left the room in a hurry, wanting to find her former sensei so she could get back to the party right away.

* * *

><p>"Finally!" Mizuki said happily when he found what he was looking for. All the stored Namikaze jutsu and equipment room, the only light source came from a single window, he would not risk turning on the lights. He moved quickly, moving over to a large chest, opening it he discovered it filled with scrolls containing various jutsus, with Mizuki nearly drooling at the sight. "With this, I can finally become a jounin and quit my teaching job." He got out a large scroll that had all the preparations for sealing drawn on it, though it hadn't actually been used yet. With this, he could easily take everything away and hide it before Kushina found out it was gone. He placed it unfurled on the ground and gathered up everything he could.<p>

"Mizuki-sensei?" A girl's voice called out behind him, making him freeze up. Slowly turning around, the blue-haired chuunin saw Sakura looking at him in shock from the doorway. "What are you doing? You can't-" She was cut off by a kunai thrown at her throat in an effort to silence her. Unfortunately in his hurry Mizuki forgot that weapons didn't work on banshees, meaning the kunai went right thru her harmlessly.

Right away Sakura started screaming, partly out of fear but mostly to alert everyone in the house something bad was happening. Even the soundproof jutsu Kushina had set up earlier couldn't block out a banshee's scream, so everyone on the main floor would hear her.

The Scream of the Banshee was so strong that it drowned out the sound of the music and the punch bowl cracked and shattered, allowing the red juice to spill everywhere. Everyone in the Mansion covered their ears, trying to block out the sound of the scream. Thankfully those on the first floor were not affected by the sound so much.

Mizuki unfortunately was only a few meters away and he could not press his hands over his ears hard enough at that moment. He thought his eardrums were going to explode. Thinking of no other way to escape the sound, Mizuki grabbed a single scroll from the pile and ran for the window. He jumped through, thankfully Sakura's scream had broken the glass so it made it easier for him to get through.

He jumped onto the ledge of the roof and then slid down it carefully before jumping once more and landing on the ground, however due to the disorientation caused by the banshee scream, he did not land with grace.

"Ahh, dammit!" Mizuki cursed as he rose from the ground, stumbling a bit. "That little bitch, she ruined everything." He looked at the scroll which he clutched tightly in his hand "At least I was able to get something out of this. Now all I have to do is get out of here." He turned towards the gate and was about to run when a kunai zipped past him, clipping the edge of his cheek.

"AHHH!" The shinobi yelled as he spun around to see Naruto standing there. "You little brat!"

Naruto withdrew another kunai. "How could you do this Mizuki-sensei? You steal from my mom and you try to hurt Sakura. I thought you were our friend."

Despite the pain Mizuki laughed "Me? Friends with youkai? I would never affiliate myself with you freaks. I was just working to gain your trust so I could get this." He held up the scroll.

"One scroll?" Naruto asked, thinking the idea was stupid.

"Oh I wanted more, but I'll have to settle for this until I can get the rest." Not wanting to hang around longer and risk getting caught by Kushina, Mizuki ran off into the forest, hoping to get to a hideout until the heat was off and he had enough time to use what was on the scroll.

Once in the trees, he saw a large cluster of ice kunais rain down at him. Mizuki dodged, though one did hit his left thigh. He stopped on a branch to pull it out, then saw another volley of the ice weapons. He jumped to the ground to avoid these ones, and there he saw a Nara shadow technique coming towards him.

"Damn, how did they get here so fast?" Mizuki asked himself before running up a different tree. More ice kunais came at him but he was prepared and threw one of his metal kunais between the projectiles towards where they were coming from. Then in a quick move fitting a chuunin, he spun to get to the other side of the tree before the weapons could hit him, then kept on running.

'Looks like my chances of being able to convince anyone I'm not involved in this are now slim to none. In that case, I better get out of the village ASAP and find somewhere else to go.'

A stream of fire shot from behind Mizuki, his only warning behind the sound of the approaching attack. He jumped to a higher level of the canopy, but once he did a sonic blast hit him like a tank and made him fall to the ground, hitting a few branches along the way.

'Ah... damn that hurt.' He told himself. When he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Shino, all looking ready for battle. Kiba was in his human-wolf form, looking like a wolfman from a movie, and Hinata had a set of ice claws formed over her hands to maximize any damage she could inflict. Shino was hanging from a tree by a spiderweb strand, looking like he was waiting to Mizuki to make a wrong move.

Naruto, while angry and looking ferocious, smirked. "Bad move Mizuki-sensei." He said the sensei suffix sarcastically. "While I was keeping you busy, my friends got ahead of you ready to ambush you no matter where you went."

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for, but I'm not beat yet." The blue-haired chuunin commented, trying to sound tough.

"Oh yes you are, thief." Kushina said, making an appearance. Now Mizuki was nervous. "You didn't think I wouldn't follow, would you?"

"You can't do anything to me. This is a matter for the hokage, not a creature like you." Mizuki told her semi-confidently. 'If I'm going down, I'm sure as hell not going to let these things be the ones to do it.'

Kushina smiled, but it did nothing to make Mizuki feel better. "Alright then, how about I go get her right now?"

* * *

><p>Within twenty minutes, Mizuki was bound by wires, handcuffs, and chakra-repressing seals, tied to a chair in the Namikaze training grounds. The scroll he had stolen had been taken back by Kushina and all the kids went back to their party. He sat in silence, hearing only the nocturnal wildlife in the area.<p>

At the twenty minute mark, Mito Kajotenpi appeared before him. "Mizuki Touji, I've heard from trusted witnesses that you tried stealing clan property. Care to explain yourself before I pass sentence on you?"

"What are you going to do? Destroy me like that guy at your inauguration for mouthing off?" Mizuki asked, trying to sound tough to mask his fear. A lot of people in Konoha were afraid to get on this hokage's bad side because of that demonstration.

Mito smirked. "Oh that? Here's a secret, that guy was a shadow clone I planted in the crowd specifically to show disrespect and get killed by me. It showed everyone I'm not a figurehead or someone who needs bureaucrats to approve before I act. And I'd say it did the job quite well."

Mizuki gasped, making Mito chuckle. "Now, Touji, explain why you stole from the Namikaze. Refuse, and I'll hand you to Ibiki _and_ the one who taught him. I hear paired together those two can give even the dead nightmares."

Mizuki sweated, and remained firm. "I don't need to explain myself to someone like you who makes a mockery of the hokage title. The Yondaime died to keep demons out of our village, and you dare to allow multiple monsters live here and even insist they be treated like human beings? You're the one who should explain yourself bitch."

Mtio frowned but did nothing. "They were human once. Their bodies changed, not their souls."

"Demons with souls? Ha! That's a good one." Mizuki retorted. He stopped when he saw the floor and walls burst into flames in random spots.

"I'm in no mood for your insolence Touji. Now I asked you a question, why were you trying to steal Namikaze property? Answer before my ability to incinerate reaches you and you're silenced forever as opposed to a possible lighter punishment."

Panicked, Mizuki ended up blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "I'm tired of being a teacher so I wanted to advance to jounin and get a better job and I knew the Yondaime's techniques would help me and besides I know he'd rather they go to making humans strong enough to keep the demons here from getting too powerful."

Mito frowned and flames danced around Mizuki's feet, causing him to pull his legs up before he got burned. "I can understand the desire to improve your lifestyle and change your career path. However..." She held out her right hand palm up, and a yellowish flame formed above it. "I do not approve of your methods nor your view regarding your own students. No matter what, I will remove you from your teaching job. But before I do more, tell me one thing Mizuki Touji, do you at least repent of your crime?"

"Repent? I did nothing wrong. You should be punishing those monsters for attacking a human like me. If you don't those kids are going to think it's okay to attack the humans here and Konoha will be destroyed and you will fall with it!" Mizuki all but shouted like a desperate doomsday prophet.

Mito sighed and shook her head. "I take that as a no. So be it. Mizuki Touji, for your crime of stealing clan property, endangering the lives of children, and conspiracy to continue the latter act if not the former as well, I the Godaime Hokage will pass sentence on you. You will serve no less than a year in prison at the end of which I will determine the extent of your punishment depending on your behavior during your year locked away. If you show signs of reforming, I'll keep you enlisted but you will be demoted to genin. If you don't, I will either extend your sentence or have you executed depending on the degree of your actions."

Mizuki grimaced. "Why don't you just kill me now and get it over it?"

The flames flickered. "Don't tempt me further thief." The flames then died down but did not go away completely but the fire in her hand was extinguished. "Be smart Touji. You could avoid a lot of problems by cooperating here. Let go of your demon-phobia and you could live a peaceful live here, or things could get a lot more difficult for you." She gave him a forceful, almost threatening look.

Mizuki tried to return it. "How could possibly allow those things to live here?"

"Because an extermination will only hinder us and raise questions to the outside. Questions we don't want our enemies or allies asking. Also, if you're so threatened by the demons here, wouldn't it be wiser to not give them reason to target you later? You saw what they did when you offended one of them, so imagine how worse it could have been had they actually wanted to kill you?"

Mizuki gulped, and Mito closed her eyes. "I see I'm not going to get any further here tonight. I'm going to leave you in the custody of the T&I department until you're transferred to the prison. Next time we meet Mizuki, pray I'm not disappointed in you."

* * *

><p>"Did you find anything?"<p>

"Nothing physical Lord Danzou. Under the circumstances I believed it would have been unwise to try anything."

The cripple looked intriuged. "Go on Sai."

The pale tanuki nodded. "Chuunin Academy teacher Mizuki Touji had already made and effort to pilfer the Namikaze Mansion for valuable materials and jutsu, and was apprehended by my classmates who caught him before he could get away. Miss Kushina got involved and thru her the Hokage as well rather quickly. If I had tried anything, it would have only made matters present and future worse. Was I wrong?"

Danzou shook his head. "No my boy, you made a good call. You recognized the objective was now impossible and chose not to continue. That is wise, not foolish. Tell me though, did you at least learn anything in your time there?"

"I learned my social skills still need adjustments. And if I go by the chuunin's actions anything of value would not be on the first floor of the estate." Sai told his mentor.

Danzou was silent. 'Doesn't narrow it down completely, and with this Kushina is likely to increase security. An unfortunate setback, but I have time to prepare.' Now he cleared his throat. "Very good Sai. You may go now."

Sai left, leaving the old warhawk by himself. 'It appears far too unlikely now to have someone move in to take the Namikaze jutsu. Tonight proves that. Fortunately that was not my only option for getting my objective. After six years Kushina will not share her husband's power, but maybe.. her son can be convinced.'


	8. Chapter 8

The day after graduation and Mizuki's arrest, Naruto was walking down the street with some of his closest friends, which consisted of Sakura, Hinata, Sasuke, and Kaede, and the five of them were hungry. With Kushina busy at a village meeting they saw no reason to eat at the Namikaze Mansion. And each of them was proudly wearing their hitai-ates in their preferred ways, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kaede wearing them on their foreheads, Sakura as a hairband, and Hinata around her neck.

"Okay, since we already know Naruto's suggestion, anyone got any alternatives?" Sakura asked.

"Hmmm... could we please go to Ichiraku's? Teuchi said that he was working on a new ramen recipe, and if I don't get there soon Choji may eat the whole supply for lunch." Naruto pleaded.

"We certainly can't let that happen now can we?" Hinata joked. "I'll go with you if you want."

Sakura frowned jealously and Kaede spoke up. "Well I've got no better ideas so why not?" Sasuke just shrugged.

In no time the five of them went to Naruto's favorite restaurant. It was his favorite not only because of the food, but mainly because of the two who ran it. Both Teuchi and his daughter Ayame had always treated Naruto well. Both before and after the event that turned him into a real fox demon. They did not to see Naruto in a hostile light and considered him their favorite regular.

"Here you go kids, four bowls of ramen" Ayame said as she set five bowls each in front of them all. Naruto was having a beef ramen, Sakura miso, and Hinata cooled chicken ramen since too-warm food isn't favorable to yuki-onnas. Sasuke and Kaede had the weirdest types, their ramen made out of blood rather than broth. Restaurants such as Ichiraku's were required by law to make reasonable accommodations to the dietary needs of the demon children such as this. They got the blood from blood banks, which were required to have some available for sale to the few vampires. Donors were compensated with pay for their part.

Naruto took a deep inhale of the aroma of his bowl and drooled, which caused Ayame to laugh. She was one of the few youths who had not been effected the 'Great Change.' Like Itachi, she had already been old enough to escape being transformed. The oldest demon children were thirteen years old and the youngest were five. Both she and her father seemed to pay the change in the children of Konoha with little thought. In fact they seemed to like it, because most of the children now had a higher metabolism, which meant they needed more food, which meant they ordered more when they came to their shop, which was always great for business.

"Thanks Ayame." Naruto said happily.

"It's still weird seeing you two eat ramen with blood rather than broth." Sakura said to the two vampires.

"At least we don't eat raw meat." Kaede commented.

"Who does that?" Hinata asked.

"I saw Kiba do that once when he was being a little wolfish." Kaede answered.

"And Chouji too one time for lunch." Naruto added.

"Can we not talk about eating raw meat please? I like to not gag while I'm having lunch." Sakura insisted.

"Okay. So Sasuke, what blood type tastes better? I personally like B type best." Kaede said, making Sakura look grossed out, which in turn made the vampire girl laugh.

"To be honest, I never thought about it. But I do notice some batches have a tangier taste than others. Maybe it's the positive or negative factor." The male vampire commented.

"Don't make me scream." Sakura threatened.

That shut everyone up good. In fact it was effective enough that for the next few moments no one was brave enough to say anything.

"Is something wrong? Usually you guys aren't this quiet. Cat demon got your tongue?" Ayame asked when she saw none of them were talking.

"More like banshee got our tongue." Naruto joked and Ayame snickered.

Naruto's nose quickly caught a new scent coming from an alley across the street, and it was from a kitsune. This surprised Naruto because he had thought he, his mother, and Yakumo were the only kitsune in the village.

Naruto turned around and saw the source of the scent. The boy looked to be around 8 or 9 years old, and for some odd reason he was not disguised as a human right then. He had spikey brown hair which nearly covered his fox ears, black eyes, a yellow shirt with the Konoha symbol in red, grey shorts, and a long blue scarf. Coming out of his shorts was a single brown tail.

"Prepare to die!" The child shouted as he withdrew a kunai and ran at Naruto, yelling.

The three-tailed kitsune sat there motionless and stared at the little one tailed kit, and when the child got close enough-

"Owwwww!" The boy cried as he rubbed his head gingerly where Naruto had hit him. "YOU BULLY!" He shouted. "FIGHT FAIR, AND MAYBE YOU CAN DIE WITH SOME HONOR!" He then charged at Naruto again.

'Uhhh, but aren't you the one who snuck up on me with intent to kill?' Naruto thought in confusion.

The Uzumaki still sat on his stool and then quickly sidestepped his would-be assassin, who after missing his target tripped on his own feet, collapsed against the ramen counter, and fell flat on the ground.

Naruto shook his head and gave a slight chuckle. "Are you finished?" He asked as he held out his hand to help the boy up.

The boy flipped on his back and stared at the blonde coldly, and then smiled and took the older boys hand. "Yeah, I'm done."

"Great, now why don't you have some food first before you try anything like that again." Naruto said, acting like nothing had happened.

"Yes, thank you." The younger boy said.

Naruto order the younger kitsune a bowl too, which Ayame provided. When he got it he began to eat with the gusto of a starved dog, as if ramen was a delicacy he never had before, and he finished in less than five minutes.

"Wow, and here I thought Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji were the only ones who could eat ramen that fast." Sakura commented.

"So who are you and why did you try to kill our friend?" Hinata asked, giving the boy a cold look. Coming from a yuki-onna, it almost could literally freeze him had she lesser control over her powers.

"And why are you showing off your demon side? Do you want everyone to know what you are?" Sasuke asked. All of the demon children knew it was a bad idea for them to go around showing their youkai traits. The first reason was so any potential spies that made it into Konoha after the Great Change wouldn't find out, and the second reason was so any demon-hating citizens wouldn't immediately know how best to harm any of them by finding their weakness. Every demon was vulnerable to something, but as long as their type or species was hidden potential slayers would struggle to know what their specific vulnerability was.

"Yes. I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi and I want everyone to know about me and what I can do."

"Sarutobi? So you're related to the Old Man?" Naruto asked as he ate a mouthful of noodles.

"YES, I AM KONOHAMARU SARUTOBI!" He shouted proudly, as if wanting the whole world to hear. "I'M GONNA BE THE NEXT HOKAGE, AND THE STRONGEST KITSUNE IN THE WORLD!" His fox tail wagged a bit at that part.

Naruto choked on his noodles at the last part, coughing and hitting his chest a few times, before swallowing and turning to Konohamaru. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?"

"I said that I am gonna be the next Hokage, probably the greatest after my grandfather, and I am also gonna be the strongest kitsune in the world."

Naruto nodded as the boy explained this, and then cleared his throat before speaking. "Uh huh, well three things wrong with your statement there. First, _I_ am gonna be the next Hokage. Second, while the old man was awesome, it was the Fourth Hokage, my dad, who was the greatest Hokage. And third, my mom is the strongest kitsune in the world."

"It's true." Sakura commented.

"I know. That's why I attacked you." Konohamaru said as he ate a few mouthfuls of his meal.

"You attacked me because of my mom?" was the older boy's response. Everyone else was just as confused to hear that.

"Nope, I attacked you because if I killed you, then I could prove that I was strong enough to kill a kitsune with more than one tail. And then I would be strong enough to go after your mom." The boy said, reciting his whole plan.

"And yet I was able to defeat you by just hitting you on the head." Naruto smirked.

Konohamaru frowned. "That was a lucky shot."

"What are you stupid?" Sakura almost yelled. "Do you want to go to jail?"

"Jail?" Konohamaru asked, like he didn't even realize that had been a possibility. "But I'm just a kid."

"You'd still get punished for murder had you succeeded in your little game there. And your age and grandfather would not have been able to save your sorry ass." The banshee added, very upset that this child thought he could kill her friend/crush and no one would do anything about it.

Konohamaru looked undaunted. "No one would dare punish me. I'm-"

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE!" Sakura shouted, making everyone cover their ears. "YOU THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO WHOEVER YOU WANT AND NO ONE WILL PUNISH YOU? YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN THOSE ASSES WHO TRIED TO KILL US ALL FOR NOT BEING HUMAN!"

Everyone there silently sympathized with the pinkette. There had been demon hunts in Konoha for the first year or so after the Great Change, similar to the 'fox hunts' for Naruto before then, and it had been a sore subject to her for years, ever since her parents turned against her when she became a banshee. The young girl had never really gotten over that and since then had very little patience for victimizers. Fortunately for those around her, this prevented her from growing up thinking she could hit anyone who annoyed her.

Konohamaru's ears were ringing so he couldn't argue back right away. When he could hear he looked away from Sakura and ended up facing Sasuke, who didn't look too friendly right then. "You think that because your grandfather is famous you're untouchable and can do what you want? Wrong kid. And even if it _was_ true, the guy you just tried to kill is the son of the strongest one of us in Konoha. Do you really think she'd care who you're related to if she heard you succeeded in killing her son?"

"Lord knows I wouldn't." Kaede added.

Now the young boy looked like he finally realized there were consequences to what he did. 'If I couldn't stand up to a three-tails in a good mood, how could I survive a nine-tails in a bad mood?' He then turned to look at Naruto. "You got lucky today, but someday I'll show you I can be tougher."

Naruto looked at the younger kitsune, grinning lightly. "Call it what you want kid, but luck had nothing to do with it. Doesn't matter really, because if you believe you need to beat up someone else to prove you're stronger, you've got bigger problems than whether you win or lose. Not only is that illegal, but power doesn't come that easily. No, you have to earn it."

"It's true." Sasuke said, remembering what Itachi taught him years ago.

"Wha-?"

"Omago-sama!"

Everyone at the ramen counter turned around to see running towards them was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, dressed in the standard Konoha shinobi outfit wearing dark shades. Konohamaru groaned quietly, but Naruto noticed this.

The man stopped in front of the young boy and the young teens, and took a moment to catch his breath before speaking directly to Konohamaru and ignoring the others.

"Omago-sama, you should not run off like that. I have spent the last half hour trying to find you," The man said, "And here I find you having lunch with…" This seemed to be the first time he even noticed Naruto's presence because his face showed a great deal of displeasure. "Oh it's you."

Although he had never met the man before, and could tell the guy did not like him, Naruto acted polite and nodded. "Hi, how are you?"

Once again ignoring Naruto, the man turned back to Konohamaru who was staring into his bowl of ramen. "Omago-sama, you should not be hanging out with this boy. He is nothing more than a trouble-making nuisance. His pranks caused no ends of trouble for your grandfather back when he was in office." The man said in a matter-of-factly type voice.

"Hey! My pranks are an art. Who exactly are you? And why do you keep calling him Omago-sama?" Naruto asked

The man straightened himself up to his full height, as if trying to emphasize any glamour or status he may have. "I am the Tokubetsu Jōnin Ebisu. I specialize in the private training of future elite ninja, such as the Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage, Konohamaru Sarutobi."

Naruto stared at Ebisu for a moment, with a dull look on his face, but he wasn't the only one. "Really? Well I guess that is cool."

Ebisu looked slightly offended, as if expecting Naruto to be shocked and surprised at his high level of importance. Instead though he fixed his glasses before responding "Yes, well what is not cool is that the Omago-sama spending time with a hoodlum like you, whose past antics show how much respect you have for this noble village."

Naruto simply smiled. "Speaking of my past antics..." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small pellet, which he threw onto the ground and-

'POOF'

The whole shop filled with a thick grey smoke, making it impossible to see.

Ebisu coughed and hacked as he had inhaled a great deal of the smoke. He stumbled outside and took in a few gasps of air before storming back into the shop, moving his hands around to move the smoke away. "Oww you little brat. Just wait until I get my hands on you."

However to his shock and surprise, Naruto's group was gone and to his horror, so was Konohamaru.

"AHHH, Omago-sama! Omago-sama!" Ebisu said as he looked wildly around. "Grrr… don't think that either of you can get away from me. I will find both of you-"

"Yes well before you do that..." Teuchi said, suddenly appearing behind Ebisu, placing his hand tightly on the shinobi's shoulder "Who is gonna be paying the bill?"

"What? Why don't you send the bill to the boy's mother?"

Teuchi handed him a piece of paper. "Give this to her and I won't hold you responsible then. Oh, and I'd avoid badmouthing her son so much if I were you. Not a good idea to make more enemies than you have to."

* * *

><p>"So now that we're away from that guy, let's talk. Why exactly do you want to be the strongest one here?" Naruto asked when he and the others stopped escaping Ebisu.<p>

Konohamaru saw they were on top of the Hokage monument. "How did we get here so fast?"

"I'm good at escaping. Even before I became a kitsune. It should be natural to you when you get more practice in." Naruto answered.

"And by then I'll have more tails than you?"

"Why does strength matter so much to you?" Sakura repeated.

"I… I just wanted to get noticed on my own."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"All my life, people have never really see me for me. They always see me as the grandson of the great Third Hokage. Most people don't even refer to me by name anymore. I got tired of only being a mere part of the Sarutobi family instead of an individual."

"And that is why you wanted to be Hokage. To try and get out of the old man's shadow." Kaede commented.

The boy nodded. "Yeah, I was actually willing to go after him in order to try and claim the title, but since he is no longer Hokage I thought that if I could beat another kitsune that I could show that I was strong enough to be the next Hokage."

Naruto stared at the boy, and realized just how much he had in common with him. He then walked over and sat down next to Konohamaru. "You know, once I kinda wanted the same thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, back when I was about your age, I was hated and feared by pretty much everyone in the village. When they looked at me, all they saw was some kind of monster. I wanted to become Hokage, so that way when the people looked at me, they would see me as a hero and great person."

"Makes sense." Konohamaru stated.

"Yeah, it does... if you're a kid who doesn't know any better." Naruto commented.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, while I still want to be Hokage, I've now realized it is not the title that makes a person great, it is what a person does to earn the title that makes them great. No one is just given the role of Hokage. Not even the First was simply given it on a platter. You have to work hard for your goal because when it comes to becoming Hokage, there are no shortcuts."

Konohamaru looked like he wanted to say more, but-

"OMAGO-SAMA!" The loud voice echoed in the air.

Everyone spun around to see that standing behind them, panting slightly and looking a bit ticked off, was Ebisu.

The shinobi glared angrily at Naruto. "Did you really think you could escape me with such a childish and immature trick?"

The Uzumaki shrugged. "No not forever." He then smiled. "But I didn't expect you take this long to catch up either."

Ebisu went red in the face. It was true that tracking them had taken a bit longer then it normally would have. Mainly because he had been held up finding Kushina and it wasn't as easy as he thought it would have been. But regardless-

"Omago-sama, you cannot hang out with this… this troublemaker anymore. He is beneath you. And any further affiliation with him will only damage your chances at becoming Hokage."

Konohamaru looked at Ebisu for a moment, and then he turned and looked at Naruto. The older Kitsune looked down at the boy and smiled. It was then that Konohamaru turned back to Ebisu and said something that shocked both the trainer and Naruto.

"I want Naruto Uzumaki to be my second sensei."

There was a silence in the air, and it was harder to tell whose jaw had dropped further, Naruto's in shock, or Ebisu's in utter horror.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Ebisu stammered

Konohamaru nodded. "Yes, Naruto is right. Ebisu-sensei, you always kept telling me that training with you was the fastest way for me to become Hokage. If I have two sensei's that will help me out even more. Besides, how can a fellow kitsune _not_ be able to help me?"

'Wow, I really made an impression.' Naruto thought to himself, feeling kind of proud.

Snapping out of his shock, Ebisu began to march forward. "I will have no more of this nonsense. Omago-sama, you are coming with me now."

Naruto however took a step in front of Konohamaru. A mischievous smile on his face, "Actually I think that you will be leaving." He suddenly performed a few quick hand signs. "Sexy Jutsu!" A large puff of smoke surrounded Naruto for a brief moment, and when it dispersed a bit there was a tall well-developed woman with red hair in ponytails standing in a provocative way. The remaining smoke covered up the parts that weren't supposed to be exposed to public view.

Konohamaru was surprised and confused, and Ebisu was struggling to keep himself from getting a nosebleed. Naruto's friends, having already seen this jutsu, weren't affected at all, though Kaede checked to make sure Sasuke wasn't enjoying it.

"You see Omago-sama, the only thing this cretin can do is make a fool out of himself. There's nothing good you can learn from him." Ebisu said, repressing his dirtier thoughts. The fact that Naruto's eyes, hair color, and whisker marks were still evident made it easier for him to not think of this woman as attractive.

"Let me ask you one thing before I or my friends do more." Naruto said. "What exactly do you have against me?"

"You are immature, disrespectful, uncoath, and a bad influence to everyone." Ebisu answered.

"You just described half the people our age." Sakura countered.

"We're not adults, not in the same sense you are at least, so you shouldn't judge us like we're supposed to be." Hinata added.

"So what's your _real_ reason?" Naruto insisted, returning to normal human form. "It's not because of my old connection to the old Kyuubi is it?"

"Kitsune are notorious heathens that do nothing but make a mess of others lives for their own amusement, and I'll be damned if I allow you to influence the one kitsune here with potential to be above that to sink to your level." The tokubetsu jōnin told Naruto firmly.

"So it's hate by association." Naruto said, frowning at Ebisu alongside his friends. The jōnin felt their collective KI aimed at him and saw them release small demon traits. Naruto's ears and tails, Sasuke and Kaede's fangs, Sakura's semi-see-thru body, and Hinata's ice armor claws. "We don't like people who think that way Four-Eyes."

"I'm not afraid of a bunch of genin." Ebisu said, though secretly he did hope to avoid a fight with them.

"But are you afraid of demons?" Sasuke asked, his eyes turning red but not from a sharingan. Kaede's eyes turned red too.

"You see how quick they are to get bloodthirsty Omago-sama? You do not want to be like them." Ebisu repeated to his charge.

"And why should he become like you?" Hinata asked. "What makes you so much better than us?"

"Enough." Konohamaru said firmly, standing between the two opposing sides. "Ebisu-sensei, there are things Naruto can teach me you can't. And there are thing you can teach me that he can't. Both would help me get stronger faster like you always say, so why should I refuse his help?"

"He can't teach you anything appropriate."

"And how would you know?" Naruto asked.

"Your little display is proof enough." Ebisu stated.

Naruto shrugged. "Kitsune impersonate women all the time in legend. It's my nature, and Konohamaru's here too, to use a jutsu like that."

"It's disrespectful to women and serves no purpose but to embarrass yourself." Ebisu claimed.

"Oh it serves a purpose." Naruto countered, remembering all the times it helped him out before. Like when Iruka needed to see a useful disguise, or when Kakashi was trying to bring him back to class when he was playing hookie. "When a pervert sees it, they're often too distracted by their own dirty thoughts to focus on anything else, leaving them vulnerable to more painful techniques. Besides, there are three women here and neither look that offended to me."

Sakura, Hinata, and Kaede indeed did not look offended. They had all seen it before and had the positive aspects of it explained to them by Naruto and surprisingly Kushina. Sakura and Hinata by now thought nothing of it, though Kaede was still bothered by its use a little but couldn't deny it was effective on its appropriate targets.

Konohamaru looked between the two groups and suddenly smirked. "Hey, I've got a great idea. How about the two of you spar? If Naruto wins, I get him as a second sensei. And if Ebisu-sensei wins I stick with him for now."

Naruto looked perplexed but Ebisu smiled. "Sure, sounds suitable."

Naruto then sighed. "I'm not exactly sensei-material yet, but I guess I might as well show this kit just what kitsune can really do."

"You're going down Four Eyes. No one can beat Naruto." Sakura cheered.

"Except for Sasuke." Kaede added/countered.

"What was that?"

"You heard me."

"Naruto is WAY stronger and cooler than Sasuke is." Sakura claimed. (AN: I beat almost all of you reading this are thinking 'I never thought I'd see the day when Sakura would say that.')

"Yeah right, a vampire can kick a kitsune's ass any day of the week." Kaede offered.

"Could not!"

"Could to!"

"Could not!"

"Could to!"

Before this could continue and get physical, both girls were frozen in ice. "Enough arguing already." Hinata said to them before smiling at her friend/crush. "Go get him Naruto."

Ebisu stood there cracking his knuckles in preparation. 'If that naked girl method is his first choice to show off then he's bound to have little else to use against a jōnin such as myself.' "Go ahead little brat. I'll even be nice at let you make the first move."

"Everybody knows _letting_ your opponent make the first move is a big mistake." Naruto grinned and made a single sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Suddenly dozens of Naruto's surrounded Ebisu, much to his shock.

"But how? This is a-"

"It works very well with me. That's all you need to know." Naruto said before his clones proceeded to attack Ebisu. The older man was slower to react than he would have preferred, but he did defend himself and eliminate the clones. Though from the looks of it the clones got a few good hits in on him too.

"Is that all you got?" Ebisu confidently asked.

"Yes but it's your turn now."

Ebisu did three hand signs. "Fire Style Great Fireball Jutsu." He then exhaled a large ball of fire that flew right at Naruto.

"Fire Style Foxfire Wall Jutsu." Naruto countered, creating a barrier made of light blue flames that effectively stopped the fireball. In fact it sort of swallowed the other attack.

"Whoa." Konohamaru said in awe.

Naruto smirked. "Like that? It's a jutsu only kitsune can use. Now watch this." He returned his focus to Ebisu. "Fire Style Foxfire Minor Shot Jutsu." The blue fire condensed into a volleyball-sized orb and shot out at Ebisu, impacting him and covering him in flames.

Ebisu screamed and tried to put it out with the standard stop-drop-and-roll method but it didn't work. Only when Naruto snapped his fingers did the fire dissipate, and to Ebisu's and Konohamaru's surprise there wasn't so much as a singe mark on him. "That attack is sort of like a ninjutsu/genjutsu combination. The damage you feel is more in your mind than anything else, but you can't dispel it like a genjutsu and as you can see the victim isn't the only one who sees the flame or can even be hurt by it if someone else touches you. If you want I can show you a version that actually _does_ leave damage."

"No thanks, I'd rather not." Ebisu said, getting back to his feet. "Illusion or not, my skin still feels hot and burnt."

"That's part of it's effect. Your body may receive no physical damage but it feels the damage the fire _would_ have done."

"What good is a fire that doesn't burn?" Konohamaru asked.

"It's for when trickery is more important than strength, and believe it or not kit, outsmarting your enemy is sometimes better than overpowering them." Naruto explained.

"Good thing I can do both." Ebisu proclaimed as he tries to get Naruto in a headlock until he surrendered.

Naruto let him get close then did another jutsu. "Harem Jutsu." Suddenly dozens of blonde girls wearing nothing but smoke surrounded him. "Oh please hug us Ebisu." Many pleaded.

As expected, this time Ebisu collapsed with a nosebleed.

"So do you concede?" Hinata asked the jōnin when he recovered, having already thawed out Sakura and Kaede so they could watch the fight. Both girls were shivering and occasionally glaring in her direction.

Ebisu sat up and dropped his head. "Very well. Naruto Uzumaki, I still think you're not an appropriate role model for anyone, but maybe Omago-sama _can_ benefit for your tutelage. I will... give you a trial run to see if you can assist him, but the moment I feel you are simply making things worse, I will put my foot down and keep you away from him."

"Yes!" Konohamaru cheered.

Naruto simply sighed. 'Something tells me I should have just walked away.'

"Can you teach me those fire techniques Boss?" Konohamaru immediately asked.

"Actually, first thing I'm going to do is order you to remain in human form in public unless you're trying to confuse an enemy. And stop going around shouting out your name. Ninja don't _want_ everyone around them to know who they are."

The younger kitsune was surrpised. "What? But if I don't-"

"If you don't it will be harder for people to know how to best hurt you." Naruto told him. "You may be the grandson of the Sandaime, but I'm the son of the Yondaime and even I have enemies. People that want me dead or simply gone. No one is so liked they cannot be hated kit, and that includes you. Someday you will gain an enemy, and if you go around broadcasting everything about yourself you're only going to give them something to use against you."

Konohamaru looked on in disbelief, but he saw all of Naruto's friends nod in agreement with what he said. "Alright. Then will you teach me those methods?"

"Not until your tutor says you're ready to learn attacks like that."

Ebisu was quite surprised to hear that. 'Maybe this kid knows more than I gave him credit for.'

* * *

><p>"Hey Touji, you've got a visitor." A prison guard told one of the inmates.<p>

Mizuki, sitting and looking like he had nothing left to live for, raised his head and looked at the small window to his cell door. "Who?"

"Apparently one of your old students." The guard answered plainly.

'Damn, I was hoping it was Tsubaki-chan.' Mizuki thought, depressed. But he got up nonetheless to see who'd bother to see him so soon after his arrest. He looked out the window and was indeed surprised. "Tenten? What brings you here?"

"I heard what you did at the party last night. Why Mizuki-sensei? Why would you do that?" The cat demon asked.

"Why do you care? It's not like you can get me out of here." The former teacher replied.

"I care because you were always nice to me in the academy, even when I had a hard time passing the jutsu requirements. And I refuse to believe you did this purely out of greed like some people say you did. You're too smart to steal something and think you could get away with it like that. There has to be a better motive."

"You're so naive Tenten."

"But am I wrong?" She pressed.

Mizuki sighed and stepped back. "It doesn't matter. This town is biased against me, favoring the rights of demons more than normal people."

"I don't believe you really hate all demons. If you did you wouldn't have offered me help when I was struggling." Tenten told him.

"Demons and humans are not meant to live together. It's unnatural, like fish living with birds. And... I kind of have a soft spot for cats. I guess you could say you simply had more appeal to me than the other students."

Tenten was silent for a brief moment. "Mizuki-sensei, you still haven't told me why you stole from the Namikaze Mansion or if I'm wrong on whether or not you had a good motive for it."

"That's because it would be pointless to tell anyone before my trial and even then I doubt it will do me any good." The pale-blue-haired chuunin told her.

"Be that as it may, I still suspect you didn't do it out of greed or selfishness. I don't know why, but I do. And until you admit otherwise I won't. If you were such a bad person, you wouldn't have bothered helping me and several other struggling students. You would have left us to fail, since a true demon hater wouldn't want us to pass."

"Maybe I just wanted a few of you to lower your guards. Did you ever think about that?" Mizuki asked.

"Yes, and I don't buy it. You could have killed several of us by now if that was your goal."

"Again, you're so naive Tenten. Just please, leave me alone for now." Mizuki told her.

"Alright Mizuki-sensei, but I _will_ hear the truth someday and I prefer it come from you. And I prefer I not have to use any of my cat tricks to get it out of you."

"Before you go, could you please tell Tsubaki-chan that I need to see her before it's too late?" He pleaded, then told her his girlfriend's address.

"Sure Mizuki-sensei." Tenten said before she walked away.

Maybe it was because she was in human form or he was thinking too much about something else, but Mizuki forgot about her heightened sense of hearing when he whispered to himself.

"Tenten, you're not wrong."


	9. Chapter 9

The day had finally come when the genin teams would be assigned. All the waiting students were anxious to hear who their teammates would be and who would be lucky enough to be assigned on the same team as their friends. Several girls naturally hoped to be paired with Naruto and another several hoped to be paired with Sasuke. The two boys in question just hoped the girls they were assigned with would be professional about it, as would the girls who weren't.

The biggest worry naturally was if they would actually become genin. Because of last year's low turnout of just one official team, all students this year knew that apparently there was one more test before their ninja careers were official. And if last year was anything to go by, the success rate wasn't in their favor. Of course, the general concession was that last year had failed to compensate for the demon factor in all the genin-hopefuls and that's why the teams couldn't achieve what the jounins were testing for. It was either that or the jounins were demon-haters who never intended to pass the teams, and the first option at least gave them something to hope for.

"Alright class, settle down." Iruka said, trying to call them to order. He was glad that for once he didn't have to use the Big Head Jutsu to get them to shut up; apparently they all were eager to hear what he had to say for once. "You're all genin now, and I'm proud of all of you. From this day forth, you will be putting your skills and talents to practical use and serving your village. Remember, being a ninja is not all fun and games. There will be tough times ahead and there is always the risk of death, either your own or your teammates. But as long as you train hard and take this career seriously, you should be fine."

"Of course, there is also the additional risk that you all will experience, the risk of exposing your hidden natures." Iruka added, knowing this part was essential for them to hear. "As you all know and need no reminder of, you cannot let the outside world know what you all really are. You should not feel ashamed of yourselves, but most of the world still has myopic views of demons and will have no qualms about killing you on sight if they learn what you are. Or worse, they will abduct you and enslave you for their own purposes. I trust you all to know what to do when and if the time comes."

He saw many nod and smiled. "Okay then, with that done, I'll list off the set of teams. Team One..." He went on for a bit.

"Team Seven is Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Namikaze..." Right now several girls were anxious to be called on. "... and Sakura Uzumaki."

"YES!" The banshee shrieked in joy, making everyone's ears hurt. Even a few people in other rooms and outside the academy heard her.

"Sakura shut up!" Iruka shouted as best he could. Fortunately she got her excitement out of her system and settled down, unaware that several set of eyes were boring into her right then.

'Why her? She already lives with the guy isn't that enough?' Ino jealously asked herself.

'I see you get frisky with Naruto-kun I'm going to give you way worse than a cold shower.' Hinata silently threatened.

'If you think you've won you are sorely mistaken girl. No way I'm giving up that easily.' Yakumo internally declared.

'Do anything to Sasuke and I swear I'll find a way to make a banshee bleed.' Kaede rued, along with other Sasuke fangirls.

"As I was saying, Team Seven's jounin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team Eight is Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyoga." Like Sakura, Hinata changed her surname after being cast out of her family. She changed Hyuga to Hyoga, reflecting her new element. Hanabi shared the name too, even though she wasn't an ice elemental.

Said yuki-onna was notably upset she was not paired up with the kitsune she admired while the banshee who also lived with him was.

Sakura was elated. 'I get to be around Naruto. This is going to be fun. Maybe he'll even start thinking of me as a possible mate in time, rather than just adopted clan member.'

-Flashback-

"Mrs. Namikaze?" A young Sakura nervously asked Kushina, who was busy making dinner alone for the hungry inhabitants of the demon orphanage. Fortunately there were only a couple of children living there at the time so it wasn't something she couldn't handle.

"Yes Sakura?" Kushina asked, looking at the child yet still working.

"I was hoping you could help me on something I was thinking about today." The pinkette asked timidly, like she was afraid of being dismissed.

"Such as?" Kushina inquired further.

"Well, I don't think I can call myself Haruno anymore, so could you help me get a new name?" Sakura pleaded.

Kushina thought it over. "Well, if you don't want that name anymore you have two options. Either create a new name for yourself or get adopted into a new family. In a legal sense, the second choice is the quicker and easier of the two."

"But who would adopt me? I mean, me and the others are here because we're _not_ wanted." Sakura asked.

The redhead smiled warmly at the young girl. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I may be called Namikaze now, but I am still part of the Uzumaki clan, and as such I do have the right to welcome new members into that if I deem them worthy enough."

Sakura sure was surprised. "Re-really?"

Kushina nodded. "Yes. Prove to me you're a good girl and I will let you call yourself Uzumaki."

Sakura straightened up as if a burden was taken off her. "I won't disappoint you Mrs. Namikaze."

-End Flashback-

'I'm sure glad I didn't.' Sakura told herself as she finished her memory.

"Team Eight's jounin sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi. Team Nine is still around from last year, so Team Ten is Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. Their jounin sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." Iruka continued.

'It could be worse.' Ino told herself, already aware such a set-up was practically mandatory. While the change to demon had changed their version of the classic Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic, everyone had expressed hope their family jutsu would make up for it and still allow them to function as a team. Apparently no one had given a good reason to suggest otherwise.

"And lastly, Team Eleven will consist of Yakumo Kurama, Kaede Shizuka, and Sai. Their sensei will be Anko Mitarashi." Iruka concluded.

"Two genin kunoichi on one team? Isn't that a bit unorthodox Iruka-sensei?" Yakumo asked.

"Unorthodox? No. Uncommon? Yes." Iruka plainly answered. "You all will be given an hour break to relax and get to know your new teammates better, but be back here to be picked up by your new senseis. Dismissed."

Not wanting to spend their free hour stuck in a classroom, all the students went outside. Before she could get outside, Sakura found herself cornered by Ino, Yakumo, Hinata, and Kaede. "What? Jealous?" Sakura could not hide her grin, because part of her was glad to have what they wanted.

"You won the battle, but you haven't won the war yet Forehead." Ino said.

Ignoring that, Sakura turned to Kaede. "Why are you upset? You know I'm not interested in Sasuke."

"Good, because I intend to ensure you stay that way." The vampire girl stated.

Sakura then looked firmly at the other three girls. "You better be careful. Naruto wouldn't like it very much if you attacked his friend and teammate."

"We know, that's why we're here to tell you that this doesn't mean you've won him from us." Yakumo told her.

Sakura then playfully smirked. "Not yet, but I will." Before they could react she turned ethereal and walked through the wall, laughing.

* * *

><p>Naruto was outside enjoying a roast beef sandwich his mother prepared for him. It took some effort, but Kushina had managed to at least make ramen no longer an addiction to her son. Sure he liked it and still went to Ichirakus when he was in a good mood, but at least now ramen was no longer Naruto's permanent first, second, and third choice for food.<p>

"Hi Naruto, mind if I sit with you for a bit?" Sakura said as she came up to him.

"Sure Sakura. Do you want the rest?" Naruto replied, offering her the half of his sandwich he hadn't bitten yet.

She smiled and accepted it. "Remember that you did this exact same thing the day I moved into the estate?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but you didn't take it then."

"I was still a bit spoiled and didn't like the idea of eating something others had already touched back then. Then Mrs. Namikaze told me how you almost never had any food, and yet you were still willing to share what you had just so I wouldn't be hungry too. I was really surprised. I kept asking myself why you would do that."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "I just don't like being selfish. Never felt right."

'Probably because you were so used to selfish people keeping stuff from you that you couldn't bring yourself to be that way towards others.' The pinkette told herself as she ate some of her half-sandwich. "That's one of the things I like most about you Naruto. You've got the biggest heart of anyone. Everyone was stupid to think you were evil incarnate all those years ago." She said after she swallowed.

"They were just confused, hurt, and scared." He told her.

Sakura shook her head. "No Naruto, they weren't. Not in any way that you should forgive just like that. They may have been upset about the old kyuubi's attack, but they had six years to get over it and they were under no obligation to get it out of their systems by taking their grief out on you. They also didn't know anything about seals so they had no right to judge how the one on you was working. And they showed they had no trust in the Yondaime's ability to keep them safe. I know you don't like hating people, but there _are_ times someone deserves to be hated."

"What would it change?" Naruto asked, confusing Sakura. "Would it make them stop hating me? Would it make them like me or accept me? Hatred is just a wasted emotion."

"Did it feel like that when you were on the receiving end of it?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes, because if I had done anything about it I would have been killed a lot sooner and never met my mom." He said, but then looked a bit crestfallen. "But of course no one else would have become demons and some like you wouldn't have become orphans. So I don't know what to think now."

Sakura took ahold of Naruto's hand. "Naruto, I don't regret what happened. I do not blame you and none of the rest of us do either. It wasn't your fault we became like this. It was the fault of all those idiots who tried to kill you. It's like Mrs. Namikaze told us, if they had just left well enough alone the seal wouldn't have been overworked and damaged thus spreading youki all over Konoha. We are what we are because of the humans, not because of you. Besides, sometimes it's really nice being able to walk through walls."

"But don't you miss your parents?" He asked.

"At first I did, but then I realized something. If they can't accept me why should I accept them?" Sakura told him. "It's been six years Naruto and my parents haven't even so much as said hi to me in passing. Even Hinata gets to talk with her family on occasion. But my parents, it's been so long since I've even seen them that I don't even remember what either of them look like. They made their choice; you had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Naruto said.

And then Sakura smiled. "Besides, I happen to think that Mrs. Namikaze is a much cooler mom."

There was no argument there.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Hinata was trying to find someone other than Naruto for once. She left the academy and headed for the Namikaze estate, where someone who contacted her yesterday was waiting for her.<p>

"Hello Hinata. I'm glad to see you're still well." Hiashi said as he saw her come into view.

Hinata smiled. "Hello Father. What was it you wanted to see me about?" She greeted with a kind smile, seeing Hanabi resting in Hiashi's lap. The girls usually only got to see their father once a month, and that bothered Hanabi more than it did Hinata. Not that Hinata didn't enjoy these visits; she was just old enough to no longer be bothered by the lack of them anymore.

"Mostly I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming genin and wish you luck on the final test to make it official tomorrow." The Hyuuga head told his former heiress.

"Nee-chan will do great!" Hanabi cheered.

"Thank you. Was there anything else?" Hinata replied.

"There was, but Kushina already alleviated my concerns on that. I was worried about the potential risks you might face from your teammates, since I don't know how demons interact with each other or with the opposite sex."

Hinata looked bothered. "You were worried I was going to be molested or something?"

"As a parent the thought was something I needed to address. Fortunately, Kushina assured me that you are currently in no risk. One of your teammates is an insect demon and they generally don't consider ice demons as potential lovers, and the other one is unlikely to even consider you seriously until you reach the age where you start ovulating. Which Kushina tells me isn't for several more years."

"I could have just told you I'm not interested in either. The boy I like is on another team."

"I was concerned about any interest they would have in you Hinata, and I felt I could relax better if I knew you weren't being sent out on missions with an additional danger from within your own team. I'm pretty sure the fathers of the other girls are concerned about the same thing." Hiashi told her.

* * *

><p>As if to prove Hiashi right, right now Ino was being visited by her own father. "Hi Daddy. Something on your mind?"<p>

He nodded and sat down. "Yes princess. I imagine you're a little upset at not being put on a team with Naruto are you?"

Ino shrugged. "A little, I admit it. But I'm not that surprised by who I was paired up with instead."

Inoichi nodded. "Yeah, but I just wanted you to know that I was asked what I thought about you being included in his team. Most of us were asked that by Hokage-sama."

Ino sure was surprised. "You were? What did you say?"

"That I thought it wouldn't be for the best for either of you or help the two of you." The Yamanaka head answered. "Sure, you'd be glad to have more time with him, but I knew you'd be tempted to use your siren song on him and deep down neither of you want that. This way you are away from such temptation and can be part of a team which supports your abilities more."

Ino slowly nodded. 'I admit I have been tempted to use my siren song to make Naruto like me more than the others, but I'm afraid it wouldn't last long and he'd hate me for doing it. And he's too nice a guy who's suffered enough already in his life for me to be comfortable adding to it. I want him to like me on his own, not because I forced him to.'

"Besides, you're still young. As you get older your interests might change and you'll find someone else to pursue." Inoichi added.

Ino scoffed. "It's not going to be either Shikamaru or Chouji Daddy. They're practically brothers to me anyway. Besides, I'd enjoy being with someone who can swim and neither of them can do that. Shikamaru flies and Chouji digs instead. I need someone who doesn't mind being near the water."

Inoichi smiled and hugged his daughter. "Good luck princess. And if anyone in the team is being lazy, don't be afraid to motivate them. Sometimes men need a push from a woman."

"I'll tell Mom you said that next time you avoid helping her. "Ino said with a laugh as she walked away, leaving a worried Inoichi behind.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell is he?" Sakura shouted as she sat at her former desk while she, Naruto, and Sasuke were still waiting for their sensei to arrive. All the other teams had left with their senseis, except for Team Seven.<p>

"Why don't you scream and see if that makes him show up sooner?" Sasuke sarcastically suggested.

"Ooh, good idea." She replied with a smile, and then took a breath breath.

Sasuke looked horrified. "No. No! NO!"

Sakura then just laughed at his expression, and luckily the laugh of a banshee wasn't painful to hear. A bit creepy and unnerving under normal circumstances, but not painful.

Feeling bored himself, Naruto started working on a harmless trap for his tardy team leader. He went for something simple, the old eraser above a slightly open door.

Sasuke saw this and groaned. "You really think a jounin would fall for something like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "If he's any good he'll see it and avoid it. At least it'll show him not to be late so much." He then moved away and sat back at a desk. Sakura smiled and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

A few minutes later the door opened and in walked an unfamiliar man to them, except Naruto. Naturally Kakashi made it a point to help out Naruto over the past few years now that the stigma on him had lessened considerably.

When Kakashi opened the door the eraser dropped and hit the top of his head, making him stop and Sasuke and Sakura widen their eyes.

'He... he actually fell for it?' Sasuke asked himself. 'Is this guy any good at all?'

"My first impression here is... Naruto's going to be a bad influence here." The cycloptic jounin told them. "But for now, meet me on the roof in two minutes. _Don't_ be late." He then disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

Sasuke and Naruto had to run to the roof, but Sakura just turned ethereal and floating up through the ceiling and next level of the building. So unlike her friends, she wasn't breathing hard when they all got to the roof. And judging from the looks of it, neither was Kakashi, who was seated on the ledge.

"Good, you're not slow." Kakashi said when all three were there. "Go ahead and sit down. We'll begin the team introduction."

The three new ninja, Sakura solid now, sat down in front of their new personal instructor. Sakura sat in the center with Sasuke to her left and Naruto to her right. This allowed Sasuke to sit in the shade of an air vent since as a vampire he needed it more.

"So what are we supposed to do then? We already know each other." Naruto pointed out.

"You three may, but I don't know all of you and you all don't know me. This way we'll be a bit more familiar with each other. Just say things like your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future, you know, that sort of thing."

"So why don't you go first Sensei? Give us an example to follow?" Sakura asked.

"Me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't really have any desire to tell kids my likes or dislikes, my hobbies... let's just say I have hobbies. Same with my dreams."

Needless to say, all three genin did not look satisfied. 'All we learned was his freaking name!' They all thought in various degrees of annoyance.

"So now it's your turn." He told them.

Naruto adjusted his hitai-ate before he spoke. "Okay, I'm Naruto Namikaze, a kitsune with currently three tails though Mom says I'm close to getting a fourth. My likes and dislikes are already known here, as are my hobbies and dreams." Sasuke just rolled his eyes while Sakura suppressed a chuckle at her sensei's frustrated look. He noticed it too. "How does _that_ feel Kakashi-sensei?"

"Very funny Naruto. Now do it for real this time." The jounin told him.

"Fine. I like ramen, my mom, my friends, all of them even though sometimes they want me to pick favorites, and gardening. My dislikes are people who hurt or kill for fun, those that hurt my friends, the man my mother wants to kill, and waiting for ramen to finish cooking. My hobbies are training and pulling pranks around town, and my dream is to become a kage that my mother and father can be proud of."

Kakashi showed no reaction, mostly because he wasn't surprised. 'I just hope he can someday get out of his father's shadow.' "Okay. Next."

This time Sasuke spoke up. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, a vampire. I mostly dislike bright sunny days like today and things like garlic and water, things that limit what I can do. I like tomatoes, fresh blood, nights with clear skies, and what's left of my family. My hobby is mostly learning new techniques, and if I must say I have a dream, it would be to have another spar with my brother someday and hopefully surpass him."

Kakashi nodded. "And lastly..."

Sakura straightened up. "I'm Sakura Uzumaki, a banshee and proud of it. I like Mrs. Namikaze and my home, and spending time with my friends. The only thing I really dislike are people who hate us, like my parents." She glowered a bit at that part. "My hobbies are doing fun girl activities with other girls I know and occasionally helping Naruto in his pranks. My dream is to just be happy when I'm an adult."

Kakashi was a bit unnerved to hear she helped Naruto in his pranks. 'But then again, that could explain how he succeeded in several of them since she can pass thru walls. I bet some of his other friends helped out too.' Kakashi repositioned himself, crossing his arms and adjusting his legs. "Ok, now that that's out of the way, we can begin our duties tomorrow."

"Is that when we get our next test?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Because of last year, you all already know that the graduation you just underwent was mostly to determine who all had the theoretical skills to be genin, and now you have a test to see who has the practical skills too. In a normal situation, about one-third of these genin even pass, and the rest are sent back to the academy for additional training. Last year even less did, but hopefully this year will be different for you."

The jounin then stood up. "Tomorrow you'll be graded on how you perform on the field. Bring all your shinobi tools, and skip breakfast. You won't be able to keep it down anyway. Be at Training Ground 7 at 7:00 AM, ready for anything." And once again, the cycloptic ninja vanished in a gust of leaves, leaving the three shinobi sitting on the rooftop.

"That is actually pretty cool, being able to vanish like that." Sasuke said as he moved a little deeper into the shadows and away from the sunlight.

"But no breakfast?" Naruto said, sounding like such a thing was completely unimaginable. "Forgot that, how would he even know anyway if we did eat?"

"He might not know, but I sure would." Said a sudden voice from behind that made all three of them jump in surprise. They each then spun around to see Kushina standing there on the roof ledge looking at Naruto with a raised brow.

"Naruto, did I just hear that you were planning on disobeying an order from your new sensei?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer. The blonde/redhead opened his mouth to respond but Kushina answered for him. "Because I hope that I am wrong, otherwise I might have to decide to not make you lunch or dinner for tomorrow as well." She then smiled. "So what was it you were going to say sweetheart?"

Naruto gave an ashamed grin. "That I am gonna listen to Kakashi-sensei and not eat breakfast tomorrow."

Kushina nodded. "That's what I thought. Now, let's go get some dinner big enough to make up for no breakfast tomorrow. My treat."

* * *

><p>During the day the Namikaze estate was bustling with activity. Demon children of every age, shape, and size would be moving about, practicing their abilities on the training grounds, or simply mingling and being friendly with each other.<p>

But at night, the manor was silent, save for the few nocturnal youkai wandering around. Like Sakura for instance, being a banshee she was capable of remaining up at all hours of night without feeling tired, although she did not do that often. She found that the night life was not as fun as many made it out to be. Maybe it would have been funner if she was allowed to leave the estate, but Kushina had a strict curfew that applied to any demon living there. Sakura could go nowhere at night without permission.

At the moment though Sakura wasn't interested in going anywhere. Instead she was reading in her room a romance novel that she had picked up from the book store. It was a good one and she had just gotten to the juicy bit.

_The two of them were alone in the park together, finally away from the prying eyes of others. Away from the whispers of the people who called their relationship strange and unnatural._

_But to the young lovers, those words meant nothing, because the hateful words of the others would not keep them apart._

_Seto gently brushed a strand of hair out of Yukari's face. "You're so beautiful" He whispered._

_The girls face immediately turned red at the compliment._

_"Can… can I kiss you?" He asked._

_Always so polite, so respectful, it was one of many traits she loved about him._

_"Yes, please, you and only you."_

_The two of them leaned forward, their lips drawing closer together, ready to taste the-_

There was a knocking at Sakura's door, which brought the girl out of the story. She quickly hid the book under her pillow, thinking that it was one of the younger orphan children coming to complain about a nightmare. It happened before, and with her being one of the oldest kids there it was her responsibility to help care for the younger ones.

"It's open." She called

When the door opened it was revealed to not be a young demon, but Kushina, who smiled warmly at Sakura. "Shouldn't you be getting your rest? You have a big day tomorrow at the training field."

The banshee girl nodded. "Yes Mrs. Namikaze, I was just about to go to bed." She answered aloud while thinking 'After I finish my book.'

"Always so formal with you Sakura." The red-haired mesugitsune said with a smile as she walked over and sat down on the edge of Sakura's bed. "I just finished telling Naruto and Hinata, so now I want to tell you how proud I am of you."

Sakura felt a wave of happiness. To her, getting praise from Kushina was the highest honor there was. "Thank you Mrs. Namikaze. I wanted to make you proud, and to show you that I am worthy of the name Uzumaki."

Kushina gave a light chuckle and nodded. "Yes, you have proven yourself indeed worthy to be part of the Uzumaki clan. Which is why Sakura, I need to ask you a favor, from one Uzumaki to another."

Sakura sat up right in her bed. "Anything Mrs. Namikaze, anything at all."

Then from within the sleeve of her shirt, Kushina withdrew a small sealed scroll, which she held out in front of Sakura. "I need you to guard and protect this scroll with your life." She said as she placed it in Sakura's hands.

"What's in it?" The banshee asked.

"It is something important, something I can only entrust to you Sakura. Can you promise me that you will protect that scroll? The only requirement is that you must promise to never look in it no matter how tempted you might be. Can you do that?"

Sakura stared deeply at Kushina for a moment and then she slowly nodded her head. "I swear Mrs. Namikaze, I, Sakura Uzumaki, will guard and protect this scroll with my life. And I will never allow myself or another living soul to gaze on what is inside it until you say otherwise."

Kushina smiled warmly and patted Sakura on the head. "I knew I could trust you." She said as she got up from the bed. "Now, get some rest. You have to get up bright and early tomorrow." She then headed for the door but paused. "Oh and I told this to Naruto already, but I am going to tell it to you, I sealed off the kitchen for tomorrow morning, so don't even think about trying to sneak in any breakfast."

"I'm still full from that dinner earlier. But what about the others?"

Kushina smirked teasingly. "Oh, I didn't say it was sealed off from everyone. Just you, Naruto, and Hinata." She then left the room.

Sakura leaned back on her bed. "Sometimes that woman's even better at tormenting someone than Naruto is."

"Thank you." Kushina's voice was heard from the other side of the closed door, making Sakura blush and turn invisible.

* * *

><p>At the same time, Sasuke was out enjoying the cool refreshing night air. It was a clear night with no clouds and stars very visible with a full moon. It was the kind of night he liked the most. His current location was atop one of the many buildings in the Uchiha district away from his home so he wouldn't risk disturbing his mother. Mikoto didn't like how he sometimes stayed up all night, but knew it was in his nature to do so now.<p>

Sasuke leaned back trying to find all the constellations he could recognize. 'Sure gets lonely occasionally here. I wish there were a few more nocturnal types like me that were fun to be around.' In the distance he heard the howl of a werewolf, not uncommon on these types of nights. 'Kiba must be feeling restless too. Too bad he's not my idea of good company.'

As if someone had heard him, he heard the sound of something approaching. He sat up and his nightvision showed a bat approaching him. The bat then stopped beside him and transformed into Kaede. "Hi Sasuke. Glad to see you're up too."

"Hi Kaede." The vampire boy told the vampiress. He knew full well she had a thing for him and while flattered, he wasn't yet ready to consider who to take as a mate and didn't want to lead her on.

'Female demons have a tendency to seek out mates sooner than male demons do.' Kushina once told him and many other youkai boys, her words echoing in his mind now. 'Part of it's because like human females they mature faster than boys, and thus the instinct to find a mate and have offspring hits them sooner. Fortunately most of them don't become fertile until years later so the male has time to catch up.'

"You look bored. Want to go for a flight around town?" Kaede offered.

"Why? Where is there to go for us?" Sasuke asked, knowing most places open now, such as bars and nightclubs, wouldn't let them in because of their age.

"Well there are the late movies. Or some last minute training. Or flying around for the heck of it and scaring the werewolves. C'mon, I'm feeling a bit restless and would like to have some company Sasuke. Do you really want to just lay there and look at the sky?" Kaede responded.

Sasuke shrugged and leaned back down. "It's a lot more enjoyable than what Shikamaru likes to do."

"It's the exact same thing, just different timing."

"I'm trying to conserve my strength for my team's test tomorrow. You would be wise to do the same." Sasuke told her. He looked away so he couldn't see what the vampiress would do next. Naturally he was a bit surprised when he heard and felt her lay next to him. "I thought you said you were restless."

"I did, but you've got a point about saving it for tomorrow." She then looked up at the stars. "Am I bothering you that much?"

He was silent for a bit. "No, not really."

With that, the vampires just relaxed and enjoyed being in their element.

* * *

><p>Yakumo was in her room painting since she had an image in her mind she really wanted to capture on canvas. It was a portrait of her and Naruto in a kitsune wedding wearing fancy kimonos and their kitsune features showing proudly while there was some light rain with a sun in the background. She also left room to add extra tails to both of them as they got stronger.<p>

"Someday my Naruto. Someday."

There was a light knock at her door. "Yakumo, are you still up?" It was her mother's voice. Since Yakumo's Id never went out of control her parents and clansmen never died in a fire created by her. She did almost burn down part of the house when she first practiced foxfire jutsu years ago, but thankfully no one died from it.

"Yes."

"Please go to sleep."

"I will when I'm tired." She answered plainly, her hopeful vulpine eyes never once leaving her artwork.


	10. Chapter 10

Team Seven was at Training Ground Seven waiting for Kakashi to show up. Actually, they had been waiting since sunrise, and their sensei had yet to show up. All of them were irritated for their own reasons. Naruto and Sakura weren't exactly the most patient people, and Sasuke didn't like staying out in the daylight too much. Sure, he was in the shade now, but the light was still a bit too bright for his preference.

"Where the heck is he?" Naruto groaned with a bit of a growl to his voice. He was so hungry, he had filled his pockets with a few power-bars he stashed in his room this morning before he left, but Kushina had checked his pockets and then flicked him on the head before sending him on his way.

"If he's not here in two minutes, I'm screaming for him." Sakura stated, taking in a deep breath to emphasize her point

'Please Kakashi for the love of Kami-sama show up NOW!' Naruto and Sasuke both thought.

In about seven seconds Kakashi arrived. "Sorry I'm late gang. My meeting with Hokage-sama took longer than expected."

"Liar." Sakura said.

Kakashi handed her an envelop. "Here, she asked me to give this to you if you had a problem with my timing."

Sakura opened it and her two teammates came over to read it while she read it out loud. While she read it Kakashi placed a timer on top a training post. "Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, if Kakashi continues to be late on a regular basis for team meetings please remind him he doesn't have to be changed into a demon to become a cyclops. Signed, Mito Kajotenpi."

Kakashi was worried but barely showed it. "Never mind that. It's time to see if you three have the practical skills to be genin. I'm not going to lie, the success rate is low even for humans. I myself have already failed three teams because they weren't ready for this line of work despite their good grades. And I'm not going to just let you pass because of your families. I'm not testing your parents, I'm testing the three of you. You ready for this?"

"Ready as we'll ever be." Sakura said, pumping her left arm to emphasize her enthusiasm.

"Okay then, here's what you must do to convince me you're good enough for this." Kakashi started, then put his hand in his pocket and pulled out three things like looked like black rectangles. "These are mere ordinary plastic strips. However, your entire chance of passing depends on these."

Kakashi already knew that the standard bell test would not have worked against these three, so he had to come up with something more appropriate but just as effective for them. Hopefully this test would work.

"Each of you take one of these." He held out the black slips and each genin took one. "Now, here's how the test will work. Once I set the timer, you have one hour to keep these slips. I will spend that hour trying to take them back from each of you. If I succeed and there's still time left on the clock, you may try to take the slip back from me. But those of you who do not have one of these black slips in your hand when the timer reaches zero will fail and be sent back to the academy for additional training. Understand?"

"Not really. How do we become a team if there's no guarantee we all can pass?" Naruto asked.

"You'll have to find that out after the test. Also I should tell you that I had a rather large breakfast so I have plenty of energy."

All three of them stared at Kakashi with a mix and horror, surprise, and anger. "WHAT?" They said in perfect unison.

Kakashi looked at them with slight confusion. "I was hungry. What, did you three not eat?"

"No, you told us we couldn't." Sasuke snarled.

Kakashi laughed. "And you actually listened to that? You should have known breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives you energy and helps you think better."

"But but but-" Naruto said

Kakashi simply shook his head. "Your chances of passing this exam have just gone down a few more notches. Now, I will be nice and give the three of you a five minute head start to get away from me. You may begin..." He then hit the timer. "Now!"

As expected, the three genin-hopefuls ran off, but in separate directions. "I just hope they see the test's true purpose is. I'd hate to fail Sensei's son, Obito's relative, and the Voice Heard Around the World."

What Kakashi didn't know was that the separation was a decoy to make him think he had to spread out to find them all. The three quickly reunited in the canopy of the forest around them.

"Anyone know what to do here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure. We can't outrun and avoid a jounin forever." Sakura said. "I mean, I might be able to, but I'm certain he's prepared for my tricks."

"Sakura, if we lose any of our plastic things, we're going to rely on you to sneak up to him and take them back. You're our best chance." Sasuke told her.

She nodded. "Can do. But how to we stop him from taking them in the first place?"

"Mom once said you can't hit a moving target. Let's try that." Naruto suggested.

"Care to be more specific?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded and quietly whispered his idea.

Sakura smiled. "That could work."

"But not for long." Sasuke told him.

"It doesn't have to. It just has to work long enough." Naruto replied.

* * *

><p>Kakashi's five minute delay ended and he started looking around the area. <em>'I'm limiting myself to just taijutsu here unless they get violent. That should be enough to lure them into a false sense of security.'<em>

All of a sudden, Naruto appeared from behind a tree, arms crossed. "Hey Kakashi-sensei! I dare you to fight me yourself!"

_'What is he thinking?'_ The jounin asked. "Naruto, shouldn't you be working on a plan of attack?"

"I have a plan. Attack!" He said before rushing towards the silver-haired adult.

_'I taught him better than this. He _must_ be up to something.'_ Kakashi thought before throwing a kunai that forced Naruto to stop in his tracks. "Looks like you need a lesson. Ninja Skill Number One, Taijutsu. Hand to hand combat." He reached into his supply pouch as if to pull out a weapon, but instead he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise.

"What the...? You brought that here?" Naruto asked, pointing at the book.

"What's wrong? Can't fight someone with a book in their hands?" Kakashi taunted.

"But why do you have it in the first place?"

"Why? Because I like the storyline and want to see what happens. It's not my fault you three are giving me time to do so." He answered, keeping his eye on the page the entire time.

Angered, Naruto pulled back his sleeves. "I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!" He again charged forward. He jumped and tried to land a punch, but Kakashi blocked and held his fist with his free hand, still reading the book the entire time. The whiskered blonde tried to continue the attack with a kick, but Kakashi ducked and let go of Naruto, resulting in him falling on his back.

Naruto got back up and tried again. This time Kakashi jumped up and above Naruto faster than the kitsune could track. He landed right behind his student. "Ninja should avoid getting caught from behind." Kakashi noted, then formed what looked like a tiger sign. "Thousand Years of Death."

Naruto surprised him by turning around at that moment, and it was too late for them both to stop what they were doing. As a result, Kakashi's attack hit Naruto in his frontside, not backside.

Nevertheless, Naruto went flying and screaming in pain, only he grabbed his crotch instead of his ass, then dispelled into smoke.

_'A clone? I'm not too surprised. But the real one is going to be mad now.'_ Kakashi thought.

* * *

><p>Suddenly Naruto, the real one, curled on himself wincing in phantom pain. Sakura was immediately at his side. "What's wrong Naruto?"<p>

The kitsune frowned. "Okay, now it's personal."

"What did he do?"

"He... almost gave my clone a vasectomy."

Sakura gasped then frowned too. "My turn."

"No, stick to the plan."

The gray-tinted pinkette shook her head. "My turn." She repeated with more force.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was still in the open standing seemingly defenseless and reading his adult literature. As soon as he turned his page he had to catch two shuriken coming at him simultaneously from opposing directions.<p>

"Carelessness will be your worst enemy." He casually mentioned loud enough to be heard by his unseen audience.

From the river exploded a cluster of Naruto clones Kakashi wasn't even aware of until they appeared. He showed no fear or intimidation though; he just stood there waiting for them to come at him.

Then he felt someone grab him from behind. "What the-?" He saw Sakura had managed to get a grip on him that would have knocked him down had she not been so much lighter than him.

"Want to know what my voice can do at point-blank range?" She threatened.

One of the Naruto's jumped up to punch the distracted jounin right in the face, but suddenly Kakashi disappeared and was replaced with another Naruto who took the hit.

"What the...?" Some clones asked.

Sakura let go of Naruto. "He substituted to get away." She then frowned. "Using your student to take a hit for you. I'm definitely giving him a mouthful."

The clones all dispelled, revealing that the Naruto who took the hit was the real one. "He either knew which was me or got lucky with that one. Wait, where's Sasuke?"

* * *

><p>Sasuke was hiding in the shade of the foliage when he felt a presence behind him.<p>

"So why are you the one hiding? Too cowardly?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke turned around. "Just being wise. I'd be an idiot to run around in daylight so carelessly."

Kakashi smirked. "Smart, but your plan was a bit obvious. Naruto and Sakura create a distraction in one area while you hide in the other direction, thus keeping my attention away from you. Meaning you must be holding all of the black strips."

Sasuke responded by throwing three kunai and shuriken, and it looked like they hit Kakashi before he could dodge at this short distance. The body hit the ground but Sasuke still frowned. "Okay, where's the real you?"

The fallen Kakashi faded away, and behind Sasuke he could be seen leaning against a tree still reading his book. "Ninja Skill Number Two, Genjutsu. Illusions and diversions. How did you know that was one?"

"You made it bleed, but there was no scent of blood."

"Drat, can't trick a vampire when it comes to blood. But now I know where you are." Kakashi said before he dispelled into smoke.

_'Crap, he used a shadow clone. I better get to the others and strategize something else.'_ Sasuke thought.

As soon as he got out of the canopy, he heard something he dreaded.

"Water Style Water Bullet Jutsu."

Several but no more than ten orbs of water shot out at Sasuke from below, leaving him unable to dodge. Being a vampire, the water attack did a lot more damage to him then normal and he fell on his face, his body feeling like he was hit with novocaine instead.

"Ninja Skill Number Three, Ninjutsu. Chakra manipulation in order to create a physical effect. Use the right way and even a weak one can become lethal. Like right now." Kakashi casually said as he strolled up the the downed Uchiha. He knelt down and checked his pockets. "So I was right, you were given all three while your teammates kept me from you. Too bad they're mine again."

Sasuke growled but he could still barely move. "They will take them back."

Kakashi did not react. Instead he moved the boy back into the shade. "Just rest there while I go test the other two further."

He then jumped away. Once he was gone Sasuke smiled. "He fell for it."

* * *

><p>Kakashi was walking thru the forest looking for his other students while expecting another amateur trick. All of a sudden Sakura appeared out of thin air like the spiritual entity she was.<p>

"Well, you gonna do what Naruto did in the beginning?" He asked.

"Sort of." She answered with a shrug.

Kakashi held out all three black strips. "You do realize your chances of success are all but gone now. You should focus on getting these back."

Sakura smiled. "I would, _if_ those were the real ones."

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Boom." Sakura added.

Suddenly two of the three black strips in Kakashi's hand exploded in black dye, stinging his hand greatly though. _'I can't believe it. Sasuke was a decoy.'_ He scolded himself.

"Nice trick Sakura, but not nice enough." He told her.

"Say that after you beat me." She said, turning see-through so none of his attacks could affect her.

"I don't need to attack you to hurt you." Kakashi said before disappearing.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, then saw a whirlwind of leaves around her. "Is he trying to trap me or something?"

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice could be heard. She turned and saw him barely able to stand because his body was riddled with kunais and shurikens with his left leg clearly broken. "H-help... me..." He said before collapsing.

Sakura froze, then shed a tear, then screamed in horror.

Virtually all of Konoha heard that scream. A couple of windows shattered, dogs and hellhounds howled, birds fled in a panic, and even one coma patient woke up.

Kakashi waited until the tree branch he was perched on stopped trembling before he uncovered his ears. "Maybe I went a bit too far."

"A _bit_ too far?" Naruto asked from the next tree, surprising the jounin. "Just be glad she's the only banshee we have here in Konoha."

"It's pointless to fight me Naruto. I know all your skills and I've already got Sasuke's black strip." He held out the one black piece of plastic that didn't explode. "You can only delay me, not stop me."

"Good enough for me. There's less than half an hour left to win this thing anyway."

"You think you can delay me that long?" Kakashi asked.

Rather than speak, Naruto grabbed four shuriken and threw them at the jounin.

Kakashi easily jumped away. "Such obvious attacks are pointless." Naruto just smiled and pointed to one of the shuriken, which had severed a previously unseen rope. _'A trap?'_ Right then a cluster of hidden knives sprang out of a bush right at Kakashi. He narrowly dodged them but two did leave cuts on his right sleeve and right pant leg.

Once Kakashi landed a clone of Naruto appeared behind him ready to kick his blind spot. The jounin just barely managed to block with his left forearm. With his right hand he grabbed Naruto's shin but Naruto followed with a punch that Kakashi also grabbed with his left hand. Twisting himself carefully, Naruto tried to use his free leg to kick Kakashi, who moved his left arm to block.

"You can't beat me like this Naruto."

"No, but now your hands are full."

Kakashi heard approaching footsteps. _'Crap, there's another one.'_ All he could do was pivot on his right foot and swing his left foot to keep the first Naruto from attacking. The one in his grasp dispelled, leaving just the one who got kicked.

"I admit, you're a tricky one. But are you good enough to give Sasuke his chance to pass back?" Kakashi taunted, waving the stolen black strip again.

"You bet I am!" Naruto tried a set of hand signs. "Fire Style Foxfire Inferno Jutsu." He exhaled a ball of fire that closely resembled an Uchiha Fireball Jutsu, but was colored light blue instead of bright red-yellow.

When the fire cleared Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. "So where did he dodge that one to?" Naruto asked.

"Below you." Kakashi's voice was heard. Naruto looked down and saw the jounin's hand emerge and grab his calf. "Earth Style Headhunter Jutsu."

Next thing Naruto knew, his entire body save for his neck and up were underground, while Kakashi crouched in front of him waving the black strip he got from Naruto in the process.

"Two down, one to go." He reminded his student before disappearing.

* * *

><p>Mito Kajotenpi sat at her desk in the Hokage tower, dressed in the outfit of her station, she looked every inch the Kage of the Konoha she was. Even if technically she was mostly a mask for the true Hokage.<p>

Normally she would be going over the enormous amount of paperwork that came with her title. Mission requests from various smaller villages, which she sorted based on their need, urgency, and how much money was offered.

She had letters from the Fire Daimyo, which contained his ideas for improving life in the Land of Fire. His requests were that Konoha seek better relations with the Land of Wind, and his desire to come down and inspect the newest generation of genin. Mito had nothing against the Fire Daimyo personally. He was a kind man and very fair to Konoha, especially on its yearly budget. But the man had a fickle and indecisive nature and was easily swayed in his decisions through biases as well as external influences.

Then there were reports that she had to look over from completed missions, going over every single little detail on what happened. Evaluations for promotion, permits, requests for treaties, and the plans for hosting the Chūnin Exams in Konoha this year. So much to do.

But at the moment in a moment of nostalgia, what she was looking at were old letters from the other Kages, congratulating her being on being named Hokage years ago.

There were five Kages, each one of them considered to be among the most powerful ninjas in the entire world. Answerable to none but perhaps the Daimyos. They were charged with the protection and governing of their respected villages, but how each one did that job was… unique.

The Kazekage, the Wind Shadow, were feared and respected across the world. They are responsible for making Sunagakure a powerful and great village despite its small size and inhospitable location. Most of the ninja they trained could work anywhere, thanks to the benefits of training in the desert. However, many thought that their station was cursed, because all three of the previous Kazekages had met their untimely deaths at the hands of assassins. No one ever said it to the Yondaime Kazekage, but many suspected he'd die the same way someday.

The Mizukage, the Water Shadow, ruled Kirigakure and by extension many of the islands surrounding Land of Water, probably more than the Water Daimyo did. Their word holds sway over all political and military issues that present themselves regarding Kiri and its inhabitants. However, the true power lay with the military, and while the Mizukage was fair, their rule could be considered a dictatorship. There, the councils never acted like they had an authority to challenge that of their Kage.

The Raikage, the Lighting Shadow, were naturally the strongest fighters in Kumogakure and weren't afraid to prove it. Feared throughout the world for their strength and ferocity, and sometimes impulsiveness. It is a well-known fact that the Raikage never travels alone, they always have a partner with them to watch their backs in a fight. They did this mostly to show to their subordinates that the Raikage did not value their assistance and he recognized their worth instead of only his only. The Raikage post was very similar to hereditary title, because so far the post had always been passed down from father to son.

The Tsuchikage, the Earth Shadow, known best for holding true authority, having their shinobi obey every command without hesitation or objection. They believed in a direct chain of command. They gave orders to the jounin, the jounin gave orders to the chūnin, and the chūnin gave orders to the genin. So strict was their policy on obedience there was talk of a possible personality cult. Luckily the Tsuchikage were also well-instructed by their predecessors to avoid taking advantage of this rank. So even though the Tsuchikage's were ironclad and unyielding, they were not without reason or understanding.

These people were Mito's colleagues, although none of them considered each other equals. On the rare occasions that a Kage met with each other they smiled and waved to appease the crowd, but underneath the surface, they hated each other.

Each letter Mito received contained words of congratulations and hopes of building a future relationship between their villages, but underneath the text of each one was the same phrase:

_'If you show any sign of weakness, I will crush you.'_

But even though Mito was simply a henged clone, she was still the Hokage of Konoha. After so long of working as she had, she was almost a separate personality from Kushina. She acted like how Kushina remembered Hashirama's wife did, which meant that by now she and Kushina had surprisingly argued before. But thru it all, she had a core belief that she lived by: to protect and serve her village with all her power with love in her heart. Much like Hashirama's wife would have done if she had been Hokage.

_'I wonder what our next meeting will be like.'_ Mito asked herself. She had met the Mizukage and Kazekage at the previous time Konoha held the Chunin Exams. Their interactions had be civil for the duration of their interactions, but one wrong move could have resulted in blood-related espionage. Thankfully it didn't, and the secret of the demonized children of Konoha remained safe.

There was gentle knocking at her door, bringing her back to the present.

"Come in." She said looking up from the papers.

The door opened and in walked Danzō Shimura, who after shutting the door bowed to Mito.

"Hokage-sama." Danzō said with every level of respect in his voice.

Mito quickly shifted through the memories and knowledge Kushina had given her. From what Kushina had thought, Danzō was a good man and worked for the same goal of protecting the village. But there was also a warning to watch out because it was a well-known fact how much he desired the Hokage post. He did not like losing the job to a woman who had to use an advanced shadow clone for appearances sake, but he never tried to circumvent her authority and always made the effort to pretend Mito was a real person like everyone else who knew about her.

"Shimura-sama, please take a seat." Mito said, offering him the chair in front of her desk.

Danzo smiled. "Thank you Hokage-sama." He said as he shuffled over, leaning heavily on his cane and took a seat. "Please forgive me if I am troubling you."

"Of course not, I was actually wishing to take a break from all of my paperwork. How can I help you?"

"Well actually Hokage-sama, I have come here to offer my help to you." Danzo said, as he reached into his robe and withdrew an envelop and handed it to Mito. She took the envelop, opened and began reading the contents.

"ROOT?" She asked.

Danzo nodded. "Yes madam."

Mito quickly ran through her knowledge again before speaking. "As far as I'm aware, ROOT was officially disbanded years ago."

Danzo nodded, "Indeed it was Hokage-sama. And rightly so, because of my foolish actions as the head of the ROOT Division, I nearly caused another full scale Ninja World War."

It had been discovered that a number of ROOT agents had been place in all of the great Hidden Villages to act as spies. But a leak had not only revealed the existence of the ROOT ninja but allowed for them to be traced straight back to Konoha. It had only been through swift and immediate action by the Sandaime Hokage that a full scale war was prevented. Konoha had covered up the evidence and labeled the ROOT members captured as rogue ninja that were part of a terrorist organization that 'infiltrated' Konoha as well. The blame was swept under the rug and ROOT (at least in paper) had been destroyed. Along with a good portion of Danzo's early reputation.

"Why do you bring up this topic Danzo?"

"Because I wish to see if it were possible to bring ROOT back."

Mito raised an eyebrow but kept her silence as Danzo explained.

"Hokage-sama, ROOT was originally designed as an covert intelligence force, a sub-group within the ANBU that covered the work best left unknown to others, even other ninja. However in our great time of peace and prosperity there is no true need for such a force. Which is why with the fall of the Uchiha as our village's sole police force and all our other clans forced to make up the difference, I would like your permission and blessing to reorganize and refit ROOT as the new Internal Security Force for the village."

Mito leaned back in her chair, although her eyes never left Danzo. "That is a very big request Danzo. The kind that would make a person ask if there were any ulterior motives behind it."

The old man lowered his head. "And I truly deserve such questioning my lady, but I assure you my intentions are far from self-serving. I simply wish to protect my home and the people."

Mito was silent, it had been true that since the Uchiha had been removed from their posts as the sole police force of the village there had been some issues. Crime rates were far from up, but there was a definite strain on manpower. Shinobi teams were rotated on a schedule to act as 'on-duty cops' which meant some calls for missions went left unanswered. And the ANBU, whose sole duty were to act as the village defense and top mission performers, had been pulling a double shift to work as a normal village security force. The idea of creating a new symbol for the peacekeepers of Konoha was a tempting idea, but-

"How would this group vary from the old ROOT?" She asked.

"Well, for starters we would not be an exclusive group. We would be open to all Konoha shinobi who wish to join us in protecting the village and its inhabitants, although they would have to go through a physical and mental exam to make sure they are up to snuff."

"What about records?" Mito asked. "I seem to remember reading the old ROOT liked to keep all of their files locked up tighter than the ones at ANBU headquarters."

"If we were to become, with your permission, the Police Force, then that would make us a public organization. All of our records would be free to view upon request. Within reason of course since some are bound to be confidential."

"And who would head this new ROOT?" Mito asked, expecting some humbled speech on how Danzo would be the leader, but instead she was answered with-

"Whoever you deem worthy of such a position and the responsibility that comes with it."

Mito stared at Danzo for another moment and nodded her head. "I will take your request under thought. If you were to prepare a formal document on this venture and present it to the council I am sure they would be willing to listen. But I will make no promises as to their reaction."

Danzo simply offered a small smile. "I thank you Hokage-sama." He then rose up from his chair and bowed to her. "Well, I have taken up enough of your time. I shall leave you now." He then turned and slowly walked out of the room, and after closing the door behind him, Danzo allowed himself to smile again.

Everything was slowly going exactly according to his plan.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Team Seven was not doing so good. In fact they were in dire straits at the moment. Sakura had avoided Kakashi, gotten Naruto out of the ground, and the two made it to Sasuke where they helped Sasuke dry off. Now the three had made it back to the place they started this entire test.<p>

"We've only got the one slip and there's only a minute left." Sakura panicked pointing to the timer and holding out the one black strip of plastic the team had managed to keep.

"We're going to fail." Sasuke moaned.

Kakashi showed up. "Looks like you're out of time and luck." He said, waving the two strips in his hand, as if tempting them to try once more to take them from him.

Naruto shook his head. "Not yet. I have one last desperate idea." The others around him looked interested. "Sakura, hold out the thing." She did so and he grabbed it but did not take it from her. "Sasuke, grab it too. Sakura, don't let go." Sasuke and Sakura both obeyed.

Then the timer went off, ending the hour.

"Umm... Naruto, what were you thinking? Two of you are without slips." Kakashi told the kitsune.

Naruto shook his head. "Wrong. You said those of us who had one of these in our hands passed the test. Looks to me like all three of us all have one in our hands."

Sakura was surprised then smiled. "Yes, he's right Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke then smirked. "You never said we needed one each, just one in our hands."

Kakashi looked unimpressed at first, then did his classic smile, although it was hidden underneath his mask. "Looks like I've been beaten by a technicality. I guess I'm required to say you all pass."

Two of the three genin cheered and high-fived while the third one just smiled. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Whether or not I had planned this very ingenious test with an outcome I might have foreseen is not the point. The point is this… to always look for what is hidden underneath instead of settling for what it obvious. But remember, I haven't officially passed you yet." Kakashi continued, regaining their attentions.

"What do you mean? We did as you said. You still going to fail us just because we didn't have separate things?"

"If you can pass on a technicality you can also fail on a technicality." Kakashi pointed out. "Let me ask you something. What was the purpose of this test?"

"To see if we could be genin?" Naruto asked.

"If it was that simple, why would I do this?" Kakashi asked, receiving no answer. "Think of it this way, why would you now need to be tested as a team when up until now you were tested as individuals? If you don't understand that, then you clearly do not understand why we had this test in the first place and shouldn't be passed."

The three thought it over, but Sakura was the first to respond. "You weren't testing our personal field skills. You were testing our ability to work as a team."

"Correct. In your career, nine out of ten missions and jobs will be performed as part of a team. Solo jobs are surprisingly rare. Sure, individual skills are important, but what's even more important is teamwork." Kakashi told them. "Refusing to cooperate with others will only put yourself and others in harm's way."

"But we didn't do that." Sasuke stated.

"Yeah. we all cooperated just fine and even got the better of you more than once." Naruto agreed.

"True, but this could have been a one-time instance for you three. True teamwork is more than just having the same goal to complete, it's about caring for the others who are doing that job with you. In this test, each of you could have easily ignored the others and prioritized only your own chances to pass. You didn't, and even went so far as to ensure the others wouldn't fail so easily. But how do I know this wasn't a fluke and you won't look out for just yourselves in a truly dangerous situation?"

Naruto took one step towards him. "Do you have any reason not to believe that?"

Kakashi was quite surprised by that, but in a way he was also quite pleased. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could have easily made some compassionate declaration about how they'll never abandon their teammate no matter what, but because they were still inexperienced in the ways of the world their words wouldn't mean anything until they were required to prove it. Naruto's answer was one of the few responses Kakashi could not argue with.

"In that case, the only way to find out is to give this team the chance to prove itself. And since I want to see that, I will have to pass you three officially. Congratulations, genin of Team Seven." He told him.

The three showed various degrees of joy.

"Now, since you three likely skipped breakfast, how about I buy you three our first team meal?" Kakashi offered.

* * *

><p>There was a huge gathering at the Namikaze mansion that night, to celebrate everyone and their officially becoming genin.<p>

While the kids, along with some of their parents, celebrated on the grounds Kushina stood on the roof balcony watching them below. She could easily see her son talking with Hinata, Ino, and Yakumo, hearing them brag about how they passed their own tests and listen affectionately to how he passed his.

"That's funny, you up here watching instead of joining in. I always remember you being a bit of a party animal." Kakashi said, appearing behind Kushina and carrying to cups of sake. He walked up next to Kushina and handed her one of them.

The red-haired kitsune smiled. "And what about you Kakashi?"

"Oh I was never much for parties." The copy-cat ninja said.

"Too busy reading those smut books still?" She asked with a sly smirk.

"I will have you know that Sensei was the one who got me started reading them. He gave me all of my books until-"

"I burned them all." Kushina finished.

Both of them laughed at the fond memory and looked below at Naruto who was standing with a few others laughing and having the time of his life.

"He looks just like his father." Kushina said

"Yea, he does… although he got your personality." Kakashi chuckled.

"You know, I cannot help but see a resemblance between Team Kakashi and Team Minato."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh don't lie, you see it clear as day. The sweet and strong-willed girl. A knucklehead jokester with a need to prove himself. And a devoted workaholic with some people issues." Kushina smirked and poked Kakashi in the ribs. "It almost makes a person think that someone requested those three together."

"What a strange coincidence."

"Sure, coincidence." Kushina said sarcastically.

"Well why do you think the hokage set them up like this?" Kakashi asked.

Kushina shrugged but kept her smile. "How should I know?"


	11. Chapter 11

"This is Silver. Any sign of the target?"

"This is Black. No sighting at all."

"This is Grey. I don't see anything."

"This is Red. I don't see it but I have found the scent trial."

"Follow it Red. Everyone else, head towards his location. And remember, we need it alive."

"Why would we kill it?"

"When you find it you'll know. Of all the enemies of Konoha, this one is by far the most cunning of them all."

"How cunning?"

"He has escaped imprisonment more times than remembered, he is very fast and very agile. And further more you need to beware of his attack, it can be deadly."

"Understood." All of them said at once as they began to move in on their target.

* * *

><p>"Team Seven reporting mission success." Kakashi said when he and his genin students returned to the Hokage Tower, with a certain cat struggling to get free from their hold on it. Sakura ended up being the one to hold it since she was the only one it couldn't hurt. Naruto and Sasuke were both covered in small red scratches.<p>

"And people call _us_ monsters. This cat is more of a monster than Tenten is." Naruto commented as he gingerly rubbed some of wounds, flinching at the stinging feeling.

Sasuke put some bandages over his cuts, having put a little antiseptic on them to prevent infection. "All I can say is vampires are not supposed to bleed."

"Could we get this thing in a cage please? Don't know how much longer I can hold it without a solid body." Sakura pleaded, struggling to keep Tora from escaping her ethereal grasp.

"Here." One of the chuunin said as while filling out a mission file and another chuunin came up to them with a cat carrier. "Hurry, before the Damiyo's wife sees this. She hates these things."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Maybe if she bothered locking the cat up it wouldn't run off."

Sakura handed over the feline. The chuunin took it and and gave it to the Fire Daimyo's wife who gushed over it despite the cat's protests. "Just be careful not to say a word about this in earshot of her. She doesn't take criticism well. And here's your pay." He then handed them their paychecks. "If it makes you feel any better, that cat doesn't seem to like any genin, human or demon." The chunnin then smiled. "I remember when I had to retrieve the cat, it nearly clawed my eyes out."

"I still got a scar on my ear from the worst time I had to get it." The other chuunin added in, gingerly touching the right side of his head in memory before walking away.

"Maybe genin shouldn't be assigned to retrieve it anymore then." Kakashi suggested. "That thing is the equivalent of a rogue ninja."

"If doing the work wasn't a complete waste of chunin talent then I'd agree." The chuunin with the reports replied, then got ready to return assigning missions.

"So team, ready for another mission?" Kakashi asked.

The chuunin at the desk went thru the file of D-rank missions. "We've got weeding a garden, building repair, walking some dogs, cleaning up a river-"

"No! I can't deal with this community service anymore!" Naruto shouted impatiently. "I know there are civilian services for that sort of stuff so why should we have to do it? We did not become ninja to do what a chain gang would do!"

The chunnin shook his head, having heard this complaint a hundred times before "You haven't been out of the academy that long. You need time to prepare for the harder stuff and doing this kind of work will give you time to practice while keeping your village up and running."

"How exactly is weeding a garden helpful to ninja training?" Naruto irritably asked.

"Teaches you proper plant identification so when you go foraging you can tell the difference between the edible and inedible?" The chuunin guessed, not actually sure or caring about the reason.

"Is there a problem here?" Mito came forward after having a brief chat with the Daimyo's wife, though it had really been one-sided; she has just stood there listening to the Daimyo's wife go on and on about random pointless topics. Actually, she had used the commotion over here as a means to excuse herself lest she dispel herself and reveal 'Mito' was a shadow clone.

"Yeah, we want something worth doing. No more chores around town." Naruto told her. He was unaware Mito was a disguised clone of his mother, but having seen her around Kushina on occasion he had gained a measure of comfort around her so he wasn't afraid to talk to her normal most of the time. Something Kushina tried to correct in him so he'd be respectful around authority figures.

"Naruto, you're just a genin and a young one at that. You're not ready for anything more advanced than D-rank yet." Mito told him firmly.

Naruto just frowned. "All of you are treating us like we're just kids. Didn't we become adults once we got these hitai-ates?" He thumbed his headband for emphasis.

"If that was all that was needed to become an adult then every civilian in the world would be just a child." Mito told him. "Naruto, you're only an adult legally, not emotionally or mentally. Right now you're more like an old child than a young adult. You need more time to grow before we can send you out into the real world."

"And how do you know we haven't grown enough? How will these crappy missions prove anything like that?" Naruto asked.

Mito looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "Do you agree with him, or is he just assuming when he says 'we'?"

"I don't really have an opinion here." Sasuke answered, though he did secretly agree with Naruto on this matter. Just not enough to draw attention to himself on it.

"Well, I agree with Naruto in principle, though I think he's speaking more out of frustration than principle." Sakura replied.

Mito looked at the three kids and after a moment smiled. "Alright." Everyone who heard that was confused. "I think I will give you a chance to prove you can handle better. It'll be only a simple C-rank and one of the tamer ones we have, but at least you'll feel like you're doing something productive." She went to the mission desk and pulled out a portfolio filled with assignments, flipping thru pages before she found one that fit her standards. "Here's one. A standard bodyguard/escort mission that should be harmless."

"Escort? So we're protecting someone on their trip to somewhere?" Naruto asked, some eagerness in his voice.

Mito nodded. "I'll go get the client. Just wait here." She then walked away.

Kakashi went right to his student. "Naruto what have I been telling you all this time?"

"To cut back on my ramen eating because the sodium level might kill me?" Naruto joked.

That got a quick flick to the forehead. "Besides that. You should not go looking for more trouble than you can handle."

"You should be thanking me Kakashi-sensei. Now we get to do real ninja work."

'Real ninja work? I don't think you know what that means.' Kakashi thought. He was a veteran of the last ninja war, and the moment he had become a genin he had been thrust into A and B rank missions. He had seen enough blood and death to last a lifetime. 'If you had to experience all that Naruto you'd be happy you're stuck with D-ranks. Excitement is a double-edged sword.'

"Naruto, what if we aren't ready for this?" Sakura asked, fearful of the worst.

"What could go wrong Sakura? Me and Sasuke are too tough to hurt and you can't be hurt anyway."

_'Maybe not physically.'_ She thought. "Naruto, you may be strong but you're not invincible. Remember the old Kyuubi after all and what happened to it."

"That's why you guys will be there to make sure I don't die, just like how I'll be there to make sure neither of you will either." He told her.

Somehow that statement was very reassuring to the vampire and banshee, and helped them build up their resolve for this mission.

Mito came back. "Here's your client." Next to her was an old man dressed like a fisherman with a pack on his back and a bottle of booze in his left hand.

"What's this? I paid fer ninja, not brats." He said, a drunken slur to his words. Even his eyes looked drunk. "Are they really ninja? Are ya trying ta rip me off woman?"

Mito ignored the insult and just smiled. "Rest assured they are licensed ninja and should be fit for the job you paid for. If you insist on better that can be provided, but it will cost you a little more."

Resigned to getting what he paid for and the fact he could not afford any more, the old man looked back at Team Seven. "Hiya, I'm the supah impressive bridge builder Tazuna. I expect ya all ta give me super protection until I git home to Wave Country and complete ma bridge."

_'Great, we're stuck with a guy I can smell the sake off of even without a kitsune nose. This is going to cost me a few snide remarks later.'_ Naruto told himself.

* * *

><p>"Oh my little boy is going on his first C-Rank mission. I am so happy." Kushina squealed with joy as she petted him on the head like he did when he was a boy.<p>

Some of the younger demon children giggled when they saw this and ran off before anything could be said to them.

"Moooom! Stop it, you're embarrassing me." Naruto groaned.

"Oh it's a mother's job to embarrass her child. That's half the fun of being a mom." She said with a smile and moved to pack some stuff into Naruto's mission bag. "Especially since he is going off on an important mission."

"It is just a bodyguard assignment, Mom. I doubt it will be anything special."

"Never doubt. If it was nothing special then it would a D rank mission." Kushina said as she continued to pack Naruto's travel bag.

"I just think it will be good to get out of the village for a while. I was going stir-crazy here. Chasing cats, weeding gardens, walking dogs, picking up trash. I want do something more… ninja-like."

"Oh I can remember feeling the exact same way when I was a genin. Wanting to get out in the world and show off what I could do." She smiled at those memories but then her expression turned serious. "You just remember though, don't get ahead of yourself or become too arrogant about your skills. If you do, you will fall hard and fast."

Naruto nodded. "Yes Mom."

"Good. I lost at least one friend that way. I'd hate for you or your friends to experience that." She handed him his bag. "Now, you stay here, I am going to get Sakura and see you both off properly." She said as she left the room and headed up the stairs.

Naruto sat down in a chair and looked in his bag, smiling when he saw that his mom had made sure to pack him a few packs of his favorite instant ramen and his fat frog wallet Gama-chan.

"Naruto?" A voice from behind him said all of a sudden.

The boy nearly jumped out his skin from surprise. Steeling himself he turned to see Hinata standing in the space behind the chair, which just a moment ago he could have sworn had been empty. "Hinata, when did you get here?"

"I've actually been here for a while. I was just standing in the shadows and didn't say anything." She said with a smile.

"That is kind of creepy." Naruto said with a serious face, then suddenly laughed. "Seriously, of all our group I have no doubt you are going to be the best spy someday. And with your ice powers the enemy wouldn't stand a chance."

"Thanks, so you got your first C-Rank mission?"

"Yes, I am leaving soon. It's going to be awesome."

Hinata smiled. "Well congratulations. I know that the other teams are sure to be jealous of you. Especially Kiba, he has been wanting to go on something other than a D-Rank mission for a while. How did you manage to get one?"

Naruto grinned. "Maybe the Hokage recognized Team Seven's talent?"

Hinata stared at him with a smile. "Did you beg?"

The kitsune seemed insulted. "I am a Namikaze, I would never lower myself to beg for something."

"What about when you begged Miss Kushina not take Gama-chan to pay for the damages from your last prank?" She reminded him sternly.

Naruto's face fell slightly. "That was not begging, that was pleading. There is a difference between the two."

Hinata smiled. "Still, I'm happy for you, and I'll miss you while you're gone. Please don't get into too much trouble while you're away."

"I'll be fine, and I'll miss you too Hinata. Maybe when I get back we can have that special curry of yours."

Hinata smiled. "Only if no humans are around. You remember what happened when Iruka-sensei tried some at the party?"

Naruto lightly laughed. "Oh yeah, that really cheered us up after the crap Mizuki pulled. I'm still surprised that spice you used has that effect on humans but not demons."

"Have you heard if he's gotten better?" The yuki-onna asked.

"Last I heard his skin's not changing color like a mood ring anymore but he still loses the ability to stand up after he burps." The kitsune told her, still chuckling a bit which made his friend join in. "Still, that was some great curry you made. Never would have thought you'd have talent for spicy food."

Hinata blushed. "I'm surprised too, but I can't live off frozen food forever so it's nice to know how to make hot meals. Especially when I... have a mate in a few years."

"No need to worry about that. You've got plenty of time to learn a lot before that comes up." Naruto replied friendly, not wanting to talk too much about mating since he was well aware her and three girls were hoping he'd choose one of them and he wasn't ready to take that seriously yet.

Hinata nodded, knowing he didn't want to make an issue of their possible romantic future when he had something more immediate on his mind. "Anything I can help you with before you head off?"

"No, but that doesn't mean you have to leave or anything." He stated, making her really happy.

* * *

><p>Sakura was going thru all of the stuff in her room in a systematic fashion, making sure she had not forgotten anything when there was a knock at her door.<p>

"It's open." She called.

Kushina pushed open the door and walked in. "How is my girl doing?" She asked happily.

Sakura immediately looked up and quickly bowed her head respectively. "Mrs. Namikaze-"

"HEY! How many times have I told you, just call me Kushina? Mrs. Namikaze makes me feel like an old hag and I am no baba yaga."

Sakura nodded. "Of course, I am sorry Mrs.… Kushina."

The redhead woman sighed and shook her head, she loved Sakura like a daughter, but that girl was far too serious sometimes. "So are you all set for your first real mission?"

The banshee nodded. "Yes, I have made sure to pack all of the essential items needed for the mission, also just a few things for precautionary measures."

Kushina smiled, something she liked about Sakura was that she was always prepared for anything. Whenever one of the younger children hurt themselves she always seemed to produce a first-aid case out of thin air. An appropriate talent for someone who themselves can appear out of thin air.

"Good, I am sure you will do well on this mission. Which is why I want to ask you a particular favor." Kushina said, her voice growing serious.

"Of course, anything."

"I need you to watch out for Naruto. We both know that he can get a little excitable and I don't want him doing anything super foolish while on this mission that might get himself hurt."

Sakura didn't need to think about this request and nodded. "Of course Mrs.- Kushina, you can count on me."

"I knew I could, and stop calling me Mrs. Namikaze."

"Force of habit, sorry."

* * *

><p>"Did you remember to pack plenty of sun-screen?" Mikoto softly asked her son Sasuke.<p>

"Yes mother." Sasuke said, holding up two bottles of the four he was bringing. Since he could not bring his coffin to block out excess sunlight, he made sure to bring plenty of sunscreen as well as air freshener for when he smelled bad at night. Of course the amount he would need for ample protection and to prevent weakness meant he would use roughly half a bottle each day.

"Do you have enough blood packets for meals?"

"Yes mother, I have a good supply and made to wrap them well to prevent puncture. I also packed a few cans of tomato juice just in case."

Mikoto smiled. "That is good. I am very proud of you Sasuke. I just know you are going to do well on this mission." Sasuke nodded and smiled back as his mom. Mikoto suddenly realized something else. "Oh yes, I have something for you. It's a gift from your brother."

"Onii-sama?"

The Uchiha matriarch nodded. "Yes, he wanted you to have it for your first non-D-rank mission." She reached into her pocket and withdrew a kunai. This was highly polished and actually had the symbol of the Uchiha engraved on the blade.

"Wow!" That was all Sasuke could say as he stared at the kunai.

"Custommade. Your brother had it made to give to you as a present upon graduation from the academy. But before… before he left he told me to give it to you for a mission." She said as she placed it in the hands of her remaining son.

Sasuke held the kunai in his hands for a moment, feeling the cool and slick metal. Then, after setting it aside, he hugged his mother tightly. "Thank you."

"Don't use it carelessly. I suspect Itachi intended it to be more than just a mere kunai."

"You mean it can do something? Is it like a Hiraishin kunai?"

Mikoto quickly shook her head. "Oh no, nothing like that. Itachi couldn't possibly know that jutsu or replicate it. I have no idea what it does or even if it can do anything, I'm mostly theorizing here. But it wouldn't surprise me if it could do something an ordinary kunai couldn't do."

"I'll examine it when I have a chance." Sasuke said, his curiously peaked.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Team Seven reunited by Konoha's main gate with a few of their friends there to see them off.<p>

"You lucky bastards." Kiba said in good jest.

"So you're going to Wave Country?" Ino asked and got a nod for an answer. "You're so lucky. You'll get to go by the ocean."

"Yeah, lucky us." Sasuke complained.

"You ready Sasuke?" Naruto asked. The vampire just shrugged. "C'mon, we're actually getting to go outside the village for once. Can't you at least pretend to be a little excited?"

"Kind of hard to." Sasuke commented.

"Why?"

"Several reasons. We're going to an island which means we'll be surrounded by water."

"Oh yeah, that's not good. For you at least." Naruto interrupted.

"Tell me about it." Kaede sympathized. "Just be glad it's not Land of Water. That would suck big time, and not in the way we vampires like sucking."

"You do realize how that sounded right? Chouji asked.

"In my defense was there a better way to phrase it?" The vampire girl replied.

"I guess not." Chouji decided.

"Trade you spots Sasuke?" Ino asked.

"Nope, this mission's still mine. And don't even think of using your siren song to change that." He told her.

The siren huffed. "No fair. I'm the only one here who's at all fit to be near the ocean and you don't even like taking a bath. I should be the one going, not the vampire. And if I was there I could show Naruto my new sexy bikini."

Sakura fumed jealously then smirked triumphantly. "Well lucky me I get to show him mine instead."

"Who would let you have a bikini banshee? You'd still fit into a grade school swimsuit. With room to spare." The Yamanaka retorted.

"You're both underdeveloped compared to me. Everyone knows the only thing sexier than a fox-girl is a cat-girl." Yakumo claimed.

"What about a succubus?" Kiba asked.

"Overrated."

Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand. "Naruto, I bet you're excited to be able to go to the beach for once when we get there. It'll be a lot of fun for us."

"I'd make it more fun." Ino stated.

"In your dreams." Yakumo declared.

Before the arguing could go any further Hinata encased the three girls in ice.

"Thanks Hinata. That was about to get really troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, especially since I know for a fact Hinata's the one who looks best in a bikini." Naruto stated before realizing what he was really saying.

"How would you know that?" Shino asked.

Hinata turned bright red. 'Na-Naruto... thinks I'm sexy?' She quickly fainted, but was caught by Kiba who settled her down.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and decided to pull his teammate out of a metaphorical fire. "All this aside, what really bothers me about these missions are how we have to act out in the rest of the world. We have to pretend to be human." He spoke the last part quietly and while he did the three frozen girls broke out of the ice and shivered while looking mad at the unconscious yuki-onna.

"Why is that a problem? We already do that." Naruto asked.

"Would you let me finish please?" Sasuke asked back, a bit irritated now but he was still whispering. "Yes we pretend to be human here, but we're allowed the occasional slip-up in use of our abilities. The villagers know what we are and any spy would think we were using a ninjutsu or genjutsu for practice. But out of Konoha, it's a little harder to justify since we won't be around people who are used to ninjas or demons."

Sakura nodded in understanding, still shivering a little. "I see your point. I can't exactly walk thru walls whenever I want without drawing suspiscion to the people we'll encounter. Anyone could leak that information out. We'll have to be careful what we do until we get back."

Sasuke nodded. "And worst of all, where am I going to get blood without hunting down someone?"

"Don't you have any packets with you? I'm sure Mom would have sealed up some for you and given it to your mom." Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I got some, but it's unlikely to last the entire trip. Sunscreen I can buy anywhere, but not blood. Besides, it always tastes better warm."

Naruto and Sakura rolled their eyes. "Maybe you'll get lucky and we'll find someone who has to be killed so you can drink their blood and be safe. Until then, just deal with cold blood." Sakura told him.

"Hey, that's like being told to eat your favorite food cold." Kaede defended.

"Ready team?" Kakashi asked with Tazuna next to him. The three genin nodded. "Alright, let's get going."

"Bye everyone." Naruto and Sakura said as they waved and headed out, receiving waves in return.

"I'll show you how I look in my bikini when you get back Naruto." Ino called out.

"Looking forward to it." Naruto replied, again not realizing what he said until after it was too late to stop himself.

Yakumo frowned at the siren then called out to her fellow kitsune. "Then _I'll_ show you how I look _without_ one when you come back."

Naruto just waved more, not wanting to put his foot in his mouth again. It didn't matter, because right then Ino and Yakumo were arguing too much to have heard him by them.

* * *

><p>Three hours went by and so that everything had gone perfectly. No surprise attacks, no whiny genin, not even so much as a hint of bad weather.<p>

Feeling a bit safer, Sakura decided to break the monotony with some light conversation. "So Tazuna, what kind of place is Wave Country like?"

The old man couldn't respond right away because he had his sake bottle in his mouth at the time, and even after he stopped he wiped his mouth with his arm. "It was a great place to live. A small island nation with three towns total and no daimyo because we ne'er needed one before. We just sorta managed ourselves with our mayors being the closest ta daimyos we ever needed. The weather was nice, occasional sea storms but fair weather and more fish than we could ever eat."

"But now...?" Naruto asked, sensing something had changed from the way the carpenter was reminiscing.

Tazuna just shrugged the question off. "Just hard times going on. But I gotta project going on that should change that."

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

"You'll see when we git there. Words don't-" He interrupted himself with a burp and cough. "They don't do it justice."

"Or maybe you just want to stop talking since you're slurring your words so much." Sasuke commented.

"Ah shaddup." Tazuna grumbled.

While the genin were chatting with the client, Kakashi observed something inconspicuous yet quite out of place. ' A puddle on a hot day when there hasn't been any rain for a week? Either the one behind this is stupid or thinks we are.'

"Hey Sasuke, you usually keep track of the weather. How long has it been since it last rained?" Kakashi asked as they passed the puddle.

"At least a week. Why?"

Before Kakashi could answer the puddle burst to reveal two hiding ninja with a barbed chain between them. They sprang at Kakashi and wrapped their chain around him, and it looked like he was cut in half by their weapon.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto and Sakura shouted, though for Sakura it was a moderate shout that only irritated the ears. Sasuke didn't shout but his eyes widened in shock.

The two enemy ninja managed to get behind Naruto, and they pulled their chain so that it would decapitate the redhead boy. Naruto ducked down to get on all fours like an Inuzuka might, thus the chain missed him. But of course these guys weren't going to stop just from that. One of them rushed forward with their clawed gauntlet to strike him.

Sakura jumped in front of this enemy, taking the claws right to her heart, making the enemy smirk under their mask. "Two down."

Sakura smirked too. "Sorry to disappoint, but I can't be cut." 'A Kiri symbol with a slash across it, this guy's a missing nin.'

Before the other ninja could move to help the first, Sasuke jumped above them and threw a shuriken and kunai. The weapons together managed to pin the chain to a nearby tree so it couldn't be used easily right away. Effectively the ninja were stuck to the tree, though not in a way they couldn't break free of with effort.

The ninja that had attacked Sakura withdrew his gauntlet in an effort to break free. In that he saw there was not a mark on the pinkette, not even a tear on her dress. 'How is that possible?'

Rather than answer the unspoken question, Sakura took a kunai in her hand and made herself ethereal again, thus making the kunai ethereal too. She stuck her hand inside his neck with the kunai pointing upwards then let go, thus turning the kunai solid and lodged in his windpipe. The missing nin was choking on the kunai now and when his gag reflex kicked in all that did was force the kunai to stab into where his brain connected with his brainstem. So if choking didn't kill him, his own reflexes would.

Naruto at the same time was fighting the other missing nin and keeping him quite busy with a never-ending set of slashes. 'His nails are like claws, my clothes and armor are actually taking damage from his fingers alone. But he'll have to do more than scratch me to beat me. Me on the other hand, my scratches are much worse.' Blocking one attack the enemy uses his free hand, which was covered in a clawed gauntlet, to slash back at the redhead boy. "Take this!"

Naruto unfortunately couldn't dodge and got cut on his left forearm. He noticed the cut burned more than it should. "Your claws are coated in poison aren't they?"

"Right, so now you can't beat me."

"I wasn't trying to beat you." Naruto said. "I was trying to make you forget."

"Forget wha-?" The enemy said but was cut off by Sasuke attacking from behind and latching onto his neck, now able to do so thanks to the cuts Naruto made to the missing nin's collar.

"That there was a third genin here." Naruto answered with a grin.

Sasuke let go of the missing nin's neck, blood around his lips and nodded to Naruto. The kitsune pulled back his fist and rammed it into the enemy's face, knocking him on his back. The enemy tried to get back up but found themselves not wanting to.

'I feel so sluggish, so drowsy. Did that kid... drug me?' He asked before he passed out.

Tazuna was shocked to see three kids he considered greenhorns at best take down two adult ninja. 'How do they train these kids? On second thought maybe I don't want to know.'

Clapping was heard and everyone turned to see Kakashi walk out of the forest unharmed. "Well done guys, you did good."

"Kakashi-sensei?" The three asked. "But we saw you-"

"You saw me substitute before their attack got to me. Notice how once they finished with me there were no remains on the ground. That should have tipped you off that I had tricked them. Just be glad it didn't tip them off either."

"So you were just watching us?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I wanted to see how good you three could do when you thought no back-up other than your own teammates was available. It's one of the best ways to test for teamwork, give the team a situation where the only help they have is each other. In that scenario you discover just how much faith you have in them and how much faith they have in you. Teammates that abandon you as soon as things get tough are the worst kind to have."

"Sepaking of which, Sasuke can you help me out here? I think I was poisoned a bit." Naruto asked, showing his injured but healing arm.

"Fine, but only because we can't risk this slowing you down." Sasuke said before sucking the poisoned blood out of Naruto's arm. When he finished he spit it out. "Gross."

"I'm going to assume that it was the poison that tasted gross." Naruto said before wiping the wound.

Sasuke wiped his mouth at the same time. "Now I have to get tested for rabies."

"You can't get rabies and you know it Sasuke." Sakura chided.

Kakashi decided to check the bodies. "One of them is about to die but the other's not so we can still interrogate him. Let's tie him up before he recovers." The genin nodded and assisted him in restraining the prisoner, receiving a few lessons in how to better do so in the meantime.

Afterwards, Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "Now, could you explain to me why two missing ninja would bother going after you?"

"How do you know they're after me? Maybe they were after you instead?" The carpenter asked back.

"You're sweating too nervously for this not to be something you were expecting. Besides, they were laying in wait, which implies they knew full well someone was going to walk down this road today. And since they sprang up at us before we made a move, that tells me they were after this exact group more than trying to defend themselves. They wanted us, and I suspect the one they were after was you. So again, what are you not telling us?"

Seeing four ninja stare him down, Tazuna cracked. "It's a long story."


	12. Chapter 12

"Hokage-sama?"

Mito was surprised when someone unexpected made her way into her office, though she was comforted by the sight of a familiar face. "What is it Pakkun? Did Kakashi's team already get in trouble on their mission?"

"Sort of. He wrote this down for you." The dog summon told her before giving her a letter.

Mito opened it and read it over twice before finally speaking. "Hmm, I see. The client intentionally lied about the severity of the mission in an effort to be cheap on the payment. Not the first time such a thing has happened."

There had been many clients in the past who had either lied about or underestimated the severity of their case. Most of the time the teams sent out could handle the situation but there had been a a few circumstances where members of the team had been killed because they were prepared for the wrong threat. Needless to say there were always repercussions for the client who had lied, not always being financial ones.

"And he requests either assistance if he continues or permission to return to Konoha if that cannot be done." The redhead woman looked at the sour-faced pug. "Where exactly was Kakashi when he summoned you?"

"Still within reasonable distance to Konoha but far away enough that you can't see it on the horizon from his current location."

Mito put a hand on her chin in thought. "The client says the main threat is a corrupt business tycoon who can hire ninja, but he failed to identify any known ones to give us an idea of what to expect. Such a man could be prepared for anything, except demons."

Mito thought about this for a second and looked at the little pug. "Does Kakashi really think he might not be able to handle this?"

"He said that if it was just him going he would not ask for any extra help, but considering he also has to watch out for his inexperienced students, he does not want to make that call all on his own and have you be on his case about it." The little dog said as he scratched himself from behind the ear.

"Well, I suppose that this could be a good opportunity to give a second team of genin a chance at a first mission. And with them backing each other up it will allow them to feel more comfortable and confident out there."

"Like a double date principle?" Pakkun asked.

"That's a pretty good analogy." Mito said before looking at the profiles of the new genin teams. "Go tell Kakashi a new team will show up today and to use the time until then to rest and train. First I need to decide which team will be best suited for going along."

Pakkun nodded and left, and Mito went over the profiles of the genin teams. 'Which would best help a kitsune, vampire, and banshee fight against any number of threats on an island?'

She thought about this tentatively for a moment, it was then that an idea popped into her head. She reached over to a pile of available teams and searched through the names until she found the one she was looking for.

After opening the file and scanning the information inside of it she smiled. "Perfect."

* * *

><p>Kakashi was hanging upside from a tree branch like a bat. His feet firmly planted on the bark and his arms crossed as he looked down at his amazed students. Then suddenly he dropped down. Doing a quick flip he landed on his feet without evening flinching.<p>

"And that's how you walk up trees." Kakashi said as he finished his demonstration. "While we wait for a response, I want you three to practice this here. Mark your progress with kunais."

"Umm... Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said, then began to whisper so Tazuna, who was sitting on a rock and taking drinks from a flash just a few feet away wouldn't hear her clearly. "This is kind of moot for me. When I turn ethereal I can hover and float thru the air like a ghost. Climbing trees like this is really unnecessary for me."

"Maybe so, but this isn't just a skill Sakura. This is also a chakra control exercise and a chakra-building routine as well." Kakashi told her. "Keep this in mind, whenever I am teaching you one thing, I could also be teaching you two things you aren't yet seeing. You have to look at what's underneath the underneath."

Sakura just looked even more confused, thus Kakashi sighed and tried to explain it in another way.

"The bottoms of your feet are the hardest parts to channel chakra from, even for your kind. So by practicing this you get used to channeling your chakra in difficult circumstances, which will in turn make channeling it in more convenient ways all the easier. So this exercise means if you can handle this, you can handle any jutsu. That is the theory of course. Not to mention it allows you to safely empty your reserves and refill them, thus expanding them so you have more for later. Yes the increase is small but it's better than none and the progress does add up over time."

Sakura was about to ask another question but a loud thud interrupted her. They both turned and looked at the tree to see that Sasuke and Naruto were already trying to master the technique.

"Come on Sakura, join us." Naruto said as he dusted himself off, having already fallen down once. Sasuke fell down a moment later but he managed to land on his feet.

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt to be prepared for the unlikely chance I'll ever be unable to turn ethereal, so sure." Sakura said before trying to run up a tree. Her reserves and control were different than they would have been had she remained human so she slipped on one step and came back down to the ground.

"Hey Sensei, wouldn't this be easier to do this if we were barefoot?" Naruto asked. "Aren't our shoes getting in the way of our chakra?"

That certainly got the other two genin curious. Even Tazuna glanced over at them in curiosity, not that he cared too much.

"To be perfectly honest, yes." Kakashi answered.

"Then why didn't-?"

"I wasn't finished Naruto." Kakashi stated, silencing his student. "It's true that the soles of your shoes are a barrier to your chakra, but they only slow the chakra, they don't stop it entirely. I did it with my shoes on after all and ninja shoes are designed with this in mind. You should do it with your shoes on because in battle you don't have time to take them off."

"Fair enough."

"Also have you ever tried getting splinters out of your feet? It takes forever." The one-eyed ninja said with a small chuckle while his students rolled their eyes.

The practice continued uninterrupted for a while, unless you counted occasional Tazuna's complaints about being bored and that they were in a hurry as an interruption. But after a while, signs of back-up could be seen.

"About time. I'm burning up here." Sasuke moaned, having taken a break from training to get out of the sunlight. He applied several layers of sunscreen on his slightly red skin. 'I hate sunburns.'

Naruto tried sniffing them out but they were downwind so he couldn't. Therefore he had to wait to see them, but he didn't have to wait long.

"Naruto!" A happy girl's voice shouted out followed by said girl running to him once she saw him.

'Oh no, not her.' Sakura worried.

Glad to see another friend, and knowing it was futile to resist, Naruto let himself get swept up in a glomp like hug from one of his admirers. "Good to see you too Yakumo."

"Hi Sasuke." Kaede said, holding a black umbrella umbrella with little skulls to keep the sun off her.

Sai was next to her but doing nothing. He just watched them silently, with a small smile on his face.

"An umbrella? Damn, I knew I forgot something." Sasuke lamented. Umbrellas were quite vital for vampires since it kept sun and rain off them, his own umbrella was a dark blue color with the Uchiha clan symbol on the fabric.

"You forgot your umbrella?" Kaede asked as she shook her head in disbelief and amusement. "How could you forget it? That's like Sai forgetting his paintbrush."

"I assumed where we were going there would be more cloud cover. I overlooked the trip to get there. I made a mistake, I'm not perfect." Sasuke admitted.

Kaede smiled. "We'll, I suppose we could walk together under my umbrella." She finished with a wink.

Sasuke felt blood rush to his pale cheeks.

"What's so important about an umbrella?" Tazuna whispered to Anko, the jounin that came with Yakumo, Kaede, and Sai.

"Those two sunburn easily." Anko admitted, then looked to Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "So… the Hokage sent the Viper of Konoha as back-up huh?"

Anko smiled right back, though hers seemed to be pretty scary. "Hokage-sama informed us of everything. The mission is B-rank at least with an increased likelihood of encountering any sort of missing nin hired to eliminate the client. Anything we don't already know?"

"No that pretty much sums it up."

"I just hope there's enough room back home for an extra team." Tazuna complained as he took another drink from his flask.

"I'm more concerned about sleeping arrangements." Anko said, pointing to Sakura who was arguing with Yakumo now, with poor Naruto in the middle, unsure about what to do.

'A boy with two girls fighting over him, and two vampires on an island nation. Sure, what could possibly go wrong?' Kakashi sarcastically asked himself.

All the while, Sai just stood there, ever silent and ever watching.

* * *

><p>It had started to rain suddenly.<p>

The storm clouds had appeared out of nowhere, covering the clear blue sky in a dark grey haze. It was Sasuke who felt the first rain drop, the simple little bit of water felt like a bee sting against his skin.

The rain started to fall hard a moment later. Tazuna wanted to keep moving, however both Kaede and Sasuke refused to move an inch. With only one umbrella between them, moving while staying dry would have been too slow to be worth it. When the sky had been clear it had been okay, as the two could afford to not be completely covered by the umbrella at all times, but in the rain they didn't have that luxury.

So both of them stood underneath Kaede's umbrella and hid under the foliage of a large tree for extra protection. The other genin were very understanding. For a vampire, any rain might as well have been acid rain.

Tazuna on the other hand was less understanding, shaking his head as he wiped water from his eyes. "Should have gone to Suna." He muttered.

"What was that?" Anko asked, turning her gaze to the older man.

"I came to Konoha under the impression that it had highly skilled ninja. But instead I find it full of kids. Kids who are afraid of some sunshine and a little rain. I could have gone to Suna and gotten some better nin-"

He did not get any further because Anko lifted the man effortlessly off the ground with just one hand and there was a smile on her face but an icy tone in her voice.

"You should know… that if you pulled the same shit at Suna like you did with us by cheating them out of money, they would have slit your throat and buried you in the sand. Not every village is generous enough to work out compromises like we are."

Tazuna could not suppress a shudder move through his body, Anko then drew him close and whispered into his ear. "Our Hokage was kind enough to forget the fact you deliberately underpaid us. She was even nice enough to send my team for extra support. If it had been me, I would have recalled the team, kept the money we already got, and told you to try your best not to die on your own. So be thankful we are not just leaving you high and dry. Now, a word to wise, relax and stop complaining so much. You will be live longer." She then set the man back on the ground and he immediately put some distance between himself and her.

Kakashi just stood there, watching and shaking his head. "I see you have not lost that whole 'scary touch' we have all come to know and love."

Anko simply shrugged. "I learned from the best." And she said no more.

The rain ended just as suddenly as it appeared. The heavy rain turned into a light drizzle and then it just stopped. Small rays of sunshine broke free from the cloud cover though the sky remained fairly hazy.

Despite the dampness of the environment, both Sasuke and Kaede let out a sigh of relief and came out from their cover.

"Can we get going now?" Tazuna grumbled.

* * *

><p>It was only a single candle that illuminated the room.<p>

"So, the demon brothers failed?" An older male voice asked, belonging to corrupt business tycoon Gato.

"Yes Gato." A younger voice said. "I witnessed their defeat personally."

"Hmph, of course they failed. An experienced jounin like Kakashi Hatake could have defeated them with his one eye closed. You should have known better, fool." Another male voice insisted.

Gato turned in the direction of the voice and glared through his dark glasses. "Are you suggesting that this is _my_ fault?"

A sharp tone silenced him. "No, I am _telling_ you that this is _your_ fault. _You're_ the one that decided to start out with the Demon Brothers, not me. I am also telling that it is now time for the true Demon of the Mist to deal with this. When it comes to me, two demons are not better than one."

There was a swiping sound through the air and suddenly the candle went out.

* * *

><p>Three days later they were finally in Wave Country but not yet in Tazuna's home town.<p>

Had it just been Kakashi and Anko traveling together they probably would have been in the town after just maybe two days. But because they were traveling with genin who were still new to extensive travel often required in the work of a ninja, they had to go at a more moderate pace. They also had to be cautious with Sasuke and Kaede on the boat ride, considering how harmful water was to them.

Because of these slight issues the trip had taken a bit longer than preferred. At least Sakura and Yakumo were no longer at each other's throats over their right to be near Naruto, however every now and again they would occasionally glare at each other. Sai just kept to himself.

"Keep your wits about kids. Now that we're actually here the odds of encountering a threat against Tazuna have increased. As well as the potential threat level." Anko warned.

Kakashi nodded. "It's likely the Demon Brothers were a test to see how well protected Tazuna is. The fact that we got him here will be a clear indication that someone stronger will come next."

"This isn't helping me." Tazuna complained before having a long drink from his flask.

"Sorry, but it _is_ helping us." Kakashi replied.

Naruto and Yakumo were up front, their noses being the best so they had to take that position. Of course Yakumo was loving being this close to Naruto and being away from Sakura.

For awhile neither of them could detect any kind of scents other then the occasional detection of a traveler or two who had passed by maybe a week or so ago. However, very suddenly both caught a scent that felt different for some reason and on impulse both threw a kunai into the bushes on their rights.

Seeing this the other ninja got ready for a threat to come out, but none did. "Check the bushes Sakura." Kakashi ordered.

Sakura nodded and went invisible, perfect for sneaking up on enemies. She found both the kunai, one was embedded in the trunk of a tree and the other had nearly killed a white rabbit. The poor little animal was passed out on the ground, slightly twitching. She looked at the kunai closest to it and saw that it belonged to Yakumo. She returned to her earthly state and emerged from the bushes carrying the little rabbit.

"Congratulations fox girl, you nearly skewered a poor animal." She said as she petted the still passed-out bunny.

"How was I supposed to know? Me and Naruto don't have a record of every single scent in the world. For all we know it could have been a person."

"Or maybe you could have used those enhanced ears to tell the difference between a movement of a bunny and the movement of a human being."

The two of them argued while Naruto tried to calm both of them down.

Kakashi however kept his eye on the bunny, something was off. 'That is a snow rabbit, their fur only turns white during the winter. It should be brown now. That means that this rabbit was raised indoors, away from sunlight. But there is no one living around here for miles so…'

Kakashi's good eye widened as he suddenly shouted "EVERYONE DOWN! NOW!"

It was out of instinct that they did that, and it was lucky that they did. Because at that moment a giant sword came spinning through the air. Had they remained standing when they did, it would have severed their heads from their bodies.

The enormous blade embedded itself into the trunk of a tree, actually going halfway through before it finally stopped.

The group slowly stood up, the young genin pretty shaken up by the fact they had almost lost their heads.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Sasuke said, voicing the unspoken question. All of the rookies were looking around trying to detect from which direction the sword had come from.

Anko immediately barked orders. "All of you take a defensive formation, protect Tazuna."

All of the genin immediately surrounded the old man, drawing their weapons and keeping themselves ready for a fight.

Then, they heard the voice. "1…2…3… huh only 8 of you? That hardly seems like a challenge. 18 would have been better."

The voice sounded like it was coming from all directions. None of them could pinpoint the location.

Kakashi however, kept his eye focused on the tree in which the sword had hit. He suddenly withdrew a kunai and threw it in that direction.

The weapon zoomed through the air and almost looked like it was going to hit bark but suddenly as if appearing out of thin-air, a man appeared and caught the kunai between his middle and index finger, holding it for a moment before tossing it to the ground.

The man stood on the hilt of the sword with perfect balance. "Still, I think you will all provide me with some marginal entertainment."

Both jounin were quick to recognize this man. "This has gotten bad." Kakashi told the genin. "This man is a wanted criminal in the bingo book with a very high threat level attached to himself. He's called Zabuza Momochi, AKA the Demon of the Mist."

Instead of looking bothered, all the genin looked amused. Even Sai, though whether or not he was just copying them was debatable. "Demon huh? Ooh I'm so scared." Naruto teased.

"What are we going to do? We've never fought a demon before." Yakumo asked sarcastically, getting a few laughs at the inside joke.

"Kids, he's called a demon for a reason. Not the same as you or the others but he's earned that title." Kakashi warned.

"And if you'd rather not see how, you'll hand over the bridge builder." Zabuza interjected.

"What's the matter? Can't fight when you're outnumbered?" Anko taunted, sensing he wanted to avoid a fight if he could.

Zabuza openly laughed hard. "Oh that's rich. I _love_ it when I'm outnumbered. Makes me feel all nostalgic. You see, back in Kiri the genin test is having the kids kill each other and after a certain amount of time the ones who survive become true genin. When it was my turn, I was the only one who survived."

The rookies were starting to see why he was called a demon, and even though he was using a different definition than they did, that made it no less valid.

"So tell me something, if you're assigned to kill this man and you don't mind being in fights where you're outnumbered, why make the approach you've done?" Anko asked, letting a bit of her interrogator side out. "You made us an offer to avoid a fight and you've yet to make a direct move. Heck I suspect your sword attack was meant to miss us, as kenjutsu experts hate the idea of throwing their swords. So what's your real plan?"

Zabuza's expression was hidden by the bandages covering his face. "That's for me to know. And sadly the time for talk is over." He quickly jumped away while grabbing his sword and pulled it out of the tree. He landed on top of a nearby lake as if it were solid and stood there, the natural light haze of the area giving his nickname some momentary credibility.

"Stay here everyone." Kakashi ordered, suspecting Zabuza intended to use the water for more than just a place to stand. "Naruto, Sakura, Yakumo, Sai, be ready to act but wait first. Sasuke, Kaede, withhold unless absolutely necessary." The genin nodded. "Anko, you're with me." Kakashi finally said, knowing the enthusiastic woman would have done so anyway.

"Damn right. No way you're getting all the fun." She said, moving to stand beside him.

"Well it is a bit unfair to gang up on me like this," Zabuza said, though his tone clearly indicated he didn't mind the situation. "So how about I even the playing field a bit?" He did a quick series of hand signs. "Water Style Hidden Mist Jutsu." The area quickly became filled with thick fog, obscuring everyone's vision.

"Keep on your toes. Zabuza's rumored to be an expert in the silent killing style." Kakashi whispered. Anko didn't look worried at all, but put her hands together.

Within the fog Zabuza was creeping along quietly, not making a noise or disrupting the mist. He was even concealing his chakra, so there was no chance of sensing him in this cover. It wasn't a foolproof plan, but it had served him endlessly and so far he hadn't met a ninja yet that could find him in this fog before he wanted them to know he was there.

To his tremendous surprise, he felt someone grab him. 'What the hell? How could someone find me first?' He looked around but saw no one. Then suddenly Sakura faded into view, but she looked see-through like a ghost. And she was smiling.

"You're good at stealth, but I'm better." She said, stating a simple fact. As a banshee, she was one of the stealthiest demons in Konoha. So far only the one will-of-the-wisp demon back home was stealthier than her, but Sakura had a weapon that particular demon lacked, and she wasn't afraid to use it.

Right then Sakura screamed right in Zabuza's face, the volume alone hurting him in the point-blank range. The force of the scream was also blowing away the mist. The other genin and Tazuna had their ears covered thanks to her earlier warning before she went into the fog, but Zabuza, Kakashi, Anko, and the false hunter nin hiding in the trees weren't so lucky.

Compared to Zabuza, the other victims were getting off lucky. Their ears hurt like hell, but it would fade. Their balance was lost to them from the attack on their ear canals so Kakashi, Anko, and Haku both fell to the ground clutching their ears. Zabuza did the same but he was bleeding from his ears and felt like his internal organs were vibrating rapidly.

Sakura stopped and caught her breath, then looked to her teammates, motioning her hand for them to come to her. Sasuke and Naruto nodded and rushed forward.

With the fog gone everyone could see two snakes start to bite Zabuza where his arteries were closest to the skin. "Times like now I'm glad we don't have real ears." One snake said to the other.

"True, but that voice of hers could hurt you from the air pressure alone." The other snake replied.

'Must be summons of Anko-sensei.' The genin told themselves then each grabbed a kunai. They looked at each other and nodded, silently agreeing on a single objective. All three simultaneously thrust their kunais into Zabuza's chest, piercing into his lungs and heart, before twisting the weapons a bit for extra internal damage before pulling them out. That resulted in some blood gushing out of the wounds, and Sasuke began to consume some before it went cold.

Kaede immediately smelled human blood and her mouth watered. On impulse she darted forward and joined Sasuke in his feeding. Sakura and Naruto backed away to let them enjoy their food.

The others were starting to regain their senses after Sakura's scream and saw what the two vampires were doing. "You two finished?" Anko asked as her snakes came back to her.

Kaede nodded. "Yeah, he's gone cold and the venom your snakes put in him kind of gave his blood an aftertaste anyway."

"Should we destroy the body?" Naruto asked, ready to conjure up some foxfire.

"No, we should send it to the research department. You'd be amazed what ninja can learn from the body of a dead enemy. That's why hunter ninja always destroy the body of their prey, to ensure the enemy can't learn anything from the missing nin." Kakashi instructed before preparing a storage seal to contain and preserve Zabuza's corpse until he could get it to Konoha. "Good job team, I guess that means you three get to collect the bounty on his head."

"Who pays for those bounties by the way?" Naruto asked, a question he had wondered since he heard about the bingo book.

"Whoever assigned them in the first place." Kakashi answered, having sealed Zabuza's body in a scroll for safe keeping. "Good work by the way. I guess Hokage-sama's idea of introducing genin to death early paid off."

One of the greatest hardships of a genin's career was the act of taking a life on the job. It was never an easy thing to do, but it was even harder for someone who hadn't yet. Often genin hesitated and it cost them their lives and/or their teammate's lives. And it wasn't something you could really prepare them for, that is, until Mito came up with a solution. To assist this problem and prevent prison overcrowding, Mito ordered it so that all official genin had to participate in a legal execution of a condemned criminal before they were eligible for C-rank missions or higher.

The criminals selected were the ones already considered ineligible for parole or already had a death sentence on them. Some of them weren't even from Konoha, but sent to her by the Fire Daimyo to properly eliminate them. Mito used them as an opportunity to teach new genin how to kill in a controlled environment and allow them to process the shock of the kill so that when it came time to do so on the job they'd be less likely to freeze up and endanger themselves or others.

For the demon children she made them kill two criminals, the first being killed in the style of a human and the second being killed in the style of a demon. This way the demon genin could kill both as themselves or without releasing their disguises.

Team Seven had done their first time a week after being formed, Kakashi not wanting to wait just before a C-rank mission to get the trauma out of their system. It worked, but Sakura managed to sneak into Naruto's room that night to make herself able to sleep at all. Hinata did the same when her team had to take the prerequisite to higher missions. Naruto had no complaints about either of them doing this, and if Kushina knew what the girls had done she didn't act like it.

"What just happened?" Tazuna asked, startled enough by the commotion that he didn't have a good grasp on it, which was good because it's what saved him from panicking at seeing two teens drink blood from a dying man.

"We just saved your cheap drunk ass from another assassin that's what just happened." Anko replied. "And let me tell you, that guy was no ordinary one. He was high caliber, a very serious threat."

Tazuna scoffed. "Couldn't have been that bad if those kids beat him."

"Old man, the only reason these kids beat him is because he didn't bother preparing himself against them." Anko chastised. "He committed one of the few things we shinobi consider to be a sin on the job, underestimating the enemy. You look at these kids and see just that, kids, which makes you think they're no real threat to you so you let your guard down regarding them. Zabuza did the same, and they took advantage of that. By the time Zabuza realized these kids had a few tricks that could hurt him it was too late to do anything but regret it."

"Alright alright, I don't need no ninja lesson, the results speak for themselves." Tazuna insisted. "Can we just get me home already?"

"Yes, assuming no more threats show up." Kakahsi said before signaling for the team to proceed.

Unfortunately, there was one more threat, but this threat did not reveal themselves.

'Damn them, damn them all to Hell for killing Zabuza-sama. I _will_ avenge him.' Haku vowed while watching them leave, knowing he was ill-prepared to fight them at the moment. He would bide his time and wait for the right moment, but these Leaf nin would not make it out of Wave alive if he had anything to say about it.

_(For once I'm going with a male Haku, to be different. Also, just this once I'm going to consider the option of changing this story to a harem for Naruto. If so, the girls for him will be Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Yakumo but no more. If not, Naruto will get one girl who will not be named yet, at most two girls since by MY standards two girls is not a harem, but three or more is. Let me know what you think.)_


End file.
